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Frank Lloyd Wright died in 1959, but his architectural designs have survived in Los Angeles-although for some of them, like Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park, the future is tenuous.
Wright, America's most famous architect and, arguably, its most controversial, designed the house for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall in 1919.
Completed in 1921, it was the first house designed by Wright in Los Angeles. Five years later, Barnsdall donated the house, 11 acres of land and two guest houses to the city of Los Angeles for use as a cultural and recreation center.
Good Times and Bad
Since then, the house at 4808 Hollywood Blvd. has seen good times and bad.
The primary stipulation the city made when it first leased out the property was that it be kept in good condition. This, however, has not turned out to be the case.
In 1942, the city boarded up Hollyhock House because of its poor condition, and by 1946 it was on the verge of demolishing it when the house underwent its first major renovation.
From 1958 until 1974, when the city restored Hollyhock House to its original grandeur,...