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Virtual Hollyhock House

By City News Service
April 5, 2017
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Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House |  Photo by: Education Images/Citizens of the Planet/UIG via Getty Images

The City Council approved $133,000 in funding Wednesday to produce an online virtual reality tour of the Hollyhock House at Barnsdall Art Park due to the limited access the building offers for disabled people.

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in East Hollywood was built before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and has limited access, but because it is a National Historic Landmark, it cannot be altered to increase accessibility.

"This vote by the City Council will allow everyone, everywhere, the opportunity to visit the Hollyhock House," said Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, who represents the area. "The video project will make the amazing historic landmark accessible to more people than ever before, shattering the notion of limited access due to challenges because of its unusual design or obstacles inside the structure."

The building was constructed between 1919 and 1921 for oil heiress Louise Aline Barnsdall, who donated it to the city in 1927. The house was reopened to the public in 2015 after a three-year restoration.

Hollyhock House and Barnsdall Art Park

Another C.C. Pierce view from Olive Hill circa 1890, looking north toward Mt. Hollywood (on the left) and the future site of Los Feliz. Courtesy of the USC Libraries - California Historical Society Collection.

When East Hollywood's Barnsdall Art Park Was an Olive Orchard

barnsdall_580_2

Behind the Scenes of the Hollyhock House Renovation

We are grateful to the City Council for approving this new project funding for Hollyhock House so we can serve people with mobility or physical issues," said Danielle Brazell, Department of Cultural Affairs general manager. "We will now be able to make all of Hollyhock House virtually accessible to both on- and off-site audiences interested in this treasure, increasing creative engagement and economic development."

The project should be completed later this year, O'Farrell's office said.

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