Today we are celebrating architect Frank Lloyd Wright. One of his most magical properties is The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House in East Hollywood . Originally build in 1921 as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, the building is now the centerpiece of the city's Barnsdall Art Park. As with many of Wright's residences, it has an "introverted" exterior with small windows, and is not easy to decode from the outside. The house is arranged around a central courtyard with one side open to form a kind of theatrical stage (never used as such), and a complex system of split levels, steps and roof terraces around that courtyard. The design features exterior walls that are tilted back at 85 degrees, leaded art glass in the windows, a grand fireplace with a large abstract bas-relief, and a moat. Water is meant to flow from a pool in the courtyard through an underground tunnel to this inside moat, and out again to a fountain.
