Built in 1921 for the oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, the house served as one of Wright’s earliest experiments with ornamental concrete, and was his first Los Angeles commission. The walls, columns, and roofs of the 17-room concrete house feature representations of hollyhocks, Barnsdall’s favorite flower.





Barnsdall gave Hollyhock House to the city of Los Angeles to use as a public art park in 1927. Since then, it has served as an art gallery, a USO facility, and a museum. The latest restoration–which started in 2008 and was paid for by the nonprofit Project Restore and the city of Los Angeles–focused on recreating the doors, windows, decorative molding, and colors of the original home that had been altered over the years, as well as repairing structural damage incurred during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

It opens to the public once again on February 13. Admission is $7 for adults.

[via Metropolis]