“Trade your expectation for appreciation and the world changes for you.”
Anthony Robbins
If you read my previous entry you might’ve been wondering what the Hollyhock House is, so I will share some background with you (rather lengthy compared to other blogs). The Hollyhock House is located in Barnsdall Art Park, it was a project commissioned by oil heiress Aline Barnsdall to architect Frank Lloyd whom she admired as an artist. Aline was a wealthy woman who traveled extensively throughout Europe, she was passionate about art, in particularly acting, and decided to build a theater.
Frank and Aline met after he completed the Midway Gardens in Chicago during the early 1910s, it was then when she entrusted him with her vision. Aline was a visionary woman and consequently purchased the land we now know as Barnsdall Art Park before the Griffith Park (think La La Land), the Hollywood sign and the nearby areas were consolidated. During this time the California’s filmmaking industry started booming due to its paradise weather like and yearlong sunshine. The Hollyhock House had only been casted as a supporting role, to an already envisioned protagonist, the commissioned theater.
The Hollyhock House was named after Aline’s favorite flower and it became the motif Frank used as theme of the house. Aline’s project did not come to fruition as she had intended, instead the communication between Frank and her became tumultuous filled with differences and a theatrical play in itself. Before the house could be finished Frank was fired due to an over budget, about 4x the intended, and a delayed in schedule both so rare in development and construction… While the partnership between Aline and Frank did not birth her expected results it gave us the Hollyhock House.
The value of the Hollyhock House goes beyond that of a physical structure. Aline and Frank contributed something far more intrinsic to our humanity, a foreshadow passed that of a first impression. The house is more than a lesson it’s a seminar that starts the moment we drive up the hill and are greeted by a long entrance, heavy doors, and low ceilings that expand when we enter into the living room. A living room full of space, a dazzling view and so many details one should experience in person. It tells us more about life than we fathom…
The Hollyhock provided us a movie trailer of many changes to come beyond those of architecture. A confident, strong, and entrepreneurial woman, rare during the early 1900s, a glimpse into the intricate mind of a very detailed and thoughtful man, culminating their partnership with a child: the Hollyhock House, never intended as the protagonist but receiving the award of World Heritage. In the end I believe Aline made a bigger play than the one she expected. Through the house we learn there is Vigor in Time as we learn to appreciate things we couldn’t conceive otherwise. Perhaps life is not just about Sharp Expectations and a wildcard like From Prime to Patience carries more weight than we realize…
P.S. Hollyhock started decaying as it went through strenuous periods of time. It’s been going through a curation process by the L.A. Conservatory, and tickets can be purchase to learn more about the house.
Today's Thoughts 
One thought on “Predicated Antecedents”