A visit to The Getty Center on a beautiful Southern California day-pictures taken a year ago

The Getty Center is located in Los Angeles, CA, near the 405 freeway and is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust.  the $1.3 billion Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens and views overlooking the Los Angeles basin.  The Center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car cable pulled hovertrain funicular.  The center was designed by architect Richard Meier.  The campus also houses the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the J.Paul Getty Trust.  The design of the Center included special provisions to address concerns regarding earthquakes and fires.

Originally, the Getty Museum started in J.Paul Getty's house located in Pacific Palisades in 1954.  He expanded the house with a museum wing.  In the 1970's, Getty built a replica of an Italian villa on his home's property to better house his collection, which opened in 1974.  When Getty died in 1976, the entire property was turned over to the Getty Trust for museum purposes.  The collection outgrew the site, which was now known as the Getty Villa.  The purchase of the land upon which the Center is located is 24 acres on a 110 acre site in the Santa Monica Mountains, surrounded by 600 acres that is kept in a natural state, which was announced in 1983.  The site cost $25 million.  The top of the hill is 900 feet above the 405 freeway.  It is high enough that on a clear day, it is possible to see not onlythe Los Angeles skyline, as well as the San Bernardino Mountains, the San Gabriel Mounds and the Pacific Ocean.

After the Center opened, the villa closed for extensive renovations and reopened in 2006.  The Villa focuses on the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria.

Other pictures of the Center

These pictures were taken two years ago!