Barnsdall Art Park facts for kids
Barnsdall Art Park is a cool city park in East Hollywood, California. It's a special place where art, nature, and history come together. You can find it on Hollywood Boulevard. The park is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, which means it's an important historical site for the city.
The park was given to Los Angeles by Aline Barnsdall. She wanted it to be a place for art and fun activities, and to protect its unique buildings and gardens. Barnsdall Art Park sits on top of Olive Hill. From there, you can see amazing views of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills. The park's main building is Hollyhock House, designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It's a very important building, recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a World Heritage Site.
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History of Barnsdall Art Park
Aline Barnsdall was from Bradford, Pennsylvania. She inherited a lot of money from her family's oil business. She was very interested in new ideas for theater. This led her to Chicago, Illinois, where she helped run an experimental theatre group. In Chicago, she met Frank Lloyd Wright, who was also very creative and unique. She really liked his work.
In 1915, Aline Barnsdall moved to California. She asked Wright to help her create a special place for theater and art in Los Angeles. She chose a large piece of land in East Hollywood called Olive Hill. It had 1225 olive trees! Barnsdall and Wright planned a big project. It included a home for Aline and her daughter, other houses, a theater, and studios for artists.
Over the years, the park became very popular. Many different people from nearby areas enjoy visiting Barnsdall Art Park.
Hollyhock House: A Special Home
Hollyhock House was the first building Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Los Angeles. It was built between 1919 and 1921. This house shows how Wright tried to create a style of architecture that fit the sunny weather of Southern California.
Hollyhock House mixes indoor and outdoor spaces. It uses the warm climate of the area. This house is a great example of how Wright loved nature and brought it into his designs. The house is named after the hollyhock flower. This was Aline Barnsdall's favorite flower. Wright even put hollyhock patterns into the house's decorations.
Frank Lloyd Wright was often away during the building of Hollyhock House. He was busy with another big project in Japan. So, he had two young architects help supervise the work. They were his son, Lloyd Wright, and Rudolph Schindler. Both of them later became famous architects themselves.
The Art Park Takes Shape
Because of money issues and different ideas, only a few buildings were finished. These included Hollyhock House and two smaller homes. In 1926, Aline Barnsdall gave Hollyhock House and about eleven acres of land to the City of Los Angeles. She wanted it to be a public park to honor her father.
The City agreed to take the land. But at first, they didn't do much with it. This was partly because of Aline's rules for how the land could be used. Also, some of her ideas were seen as unusual. Later, the California Art Club used Hollyhock House as their meeting place for many years.
In the 1950s and 1960s, more art buildings were added to Olive Hill. These included a modern theater, an art gallery, and studios. In the 1990s, the park's olive groves were restored to how they looked originally.
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery
The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery is a large space where art is shown. It's about 10,000 square feet. This gallery hosts big art shows and special exhibits by individual artists.
Inside the same building, there's also the Junior Arts Center Gallery. This is a smaller space, about 2,000 square feet. Sometimes, both galleries are used together for very large art shows.
Art Exhibitions Program
The Municipal Art Gallery usually puts on about nine art shows each year. These shows feature contemporary art, which means art made recently. You can see paintings, sculptures, photos, videos, and more. Over 45,000 people visit the art exhibits at Barnsdall Park every year.
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre (BGT) is a theater run by the City of Los Angeles. It has 299 seats. People and groups can rent it for plays, dance shows, music concerts, spoken word events, talks, and movies.
BGT also hosts many free community events. These include shows by the Independent Shakespeare Company and music camps by the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. It also hosts annual festivals, like the Thai Festival.
- Independent Shakespeare Company
The Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) puts on free live summer shows. They perform on an outdoor stage in the park.
Since 2004, the ISC has been based at Barnsdall Art Park. They perform plays by William Shakespeare. Their first show was "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". They have also performed plays like Richard III and Hamlet. It's a great way to see classic plays for free!
- Silverlake Conservatory of Music
The Silverlake Conservatory of Music offers Music Summer Camps at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. These camps teach music to young people. Professional musicians perform and explain how their instruments work in a song. This helps young people learn about music careers.
Barnsdall Art Center
The Barnsdall Art Center offers art classes for adults. These classes are like college-level courses but cost less. The center is currently in the Junior Arts Center building. This is because the original Frank Lloyd Wright building is closed for safety. A student group helps support the center. They also help with registration and raise money for programs the City can't fund.
The Junior Arts Center
The Junior Arts Center has art programs for kids and teens aged 3 to 18. Throughout the year, you can take classes in drawing, painting, film making, printmaking, acting, photography, and sculpture. There are also classes where parents and children can learn together. The center has a special gallery that shows art made by young artists.
The Junior Arts Center Gallery also has art shows for families. These shows feature art by both kids and adults. They also have interactive exhibits that families can enjoy together. Some special events held here include Día de los Muertos, Aline Barnsdall Day, and student art shows.
See also
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood
- List of parks in Los Angeles
- Little Armenia, Los Angeles — community on west.
- Lloyd G. Davies — L.A. City Council member (1943–1951) who urged purchase of adjacent land to prevent development.
