A “Misunderstood” Frank Lloyd Wright Project Becomes the First to Win a Global Distinction

The famed architect was canned before he could complete it.

The Hollyhock House, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece that almost saw the wrecking ball in the early ’40s according to the LA Times, is the first Los Angeles UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

“Built between 1918 and 1921 on a hill in East Hollywood, the house joins Wright’s more famous creations—the spiral-shaped Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz.—that collectively recognize the genius of Wright’s architecture as a cultural global treasure.”

“It’s a phenomenal moment for L.A.,” said Danielle Brazell, head of cultural affairs for the city of Los Angeles. “We now have a World Heritage Site in the middle of our city. It’s the highest recognition by an international body to acknowledge that Hollyhock House has universal value. There is no greater honor for a cultural site in the world.”

The LA Times also mentions its original owner, oil baroness Aline Barnsdall, never actually lived in the home, and even fired the architect for skyrocketing costs. Luckily another famous Los Angeles architect, Rudolf Schindler, stepped in and completed the job.

If you can’t make it to visit the home at the Barnsdall Art Park in Los Feliz, you can still see pictures here.