In 1915, Heiress Aline Barnsdall, flush with money form her oil-tycoon grandfather, came West with the intention of setting up an artist’ colony on a 36-acer site known as Olive Hill, at Hollywood’s eastern edge. The development was to include her personal home, as well as a cinema, theatre, and residences and studios for visiting artists and actors.

Completed in 1921, after a three-year construction period, Hollyhock House has since been officially acclaimed by the American Institute of Architects as one of the twentieth century’s most significant structures. Named for Barnsdall’s favourite flower, the Mayanesque concrete and stucco residence features hollyhock adornments both inside and out, and on Wright’s original dining-room chairs.

In 1923, after Wright has completed Hollyhock and two guest cottages, Barnsdall abandoned the project and donated it to the city. The home was designated a historic cultural monuments in 1963.