Getty Center

1954

It began in a private house in Pacific Palisades in 1954

The Getty Museum started in J. Paul Getty's house in Pacific Palisades in 1954. He expanded the house with a museum wing, and in the 1970s he built a replica of an Italian villa to hold his collection, which opened in 1974. After his death in 1976 the property went to the Getty Trust. The collection outgrew the site, which is now the Getty Villa, and the managers wanted a place more accessible to Los Angeles.

1997

Richard Meier was chosen in 1984 and the center opened in 1997

Richard Meier was chosen as the architect in 1984. Construction began in August 1989 and was badly delayed, with the planned completion moved from 1988 to 1995. The center opened to the public on December 16, 1997. It sits on a 110-acre site in the Brentwood neighborhood and draws about 1.8 million visitors a year.

1.8 millionvisitors a year to the hilltop campus

The grids

Two ridges at an angle of 22.5 degrees shaped the plan

Meier used the two natural ridges of the site, which diverge at an angle of 22.5 degrees, by laying two grids along them. One axis holds the galleries and the other the administrative buildings. He stressed the two grids by building strong lines of sight across the campus. The design also included special provisions for earthquakes and fires.

The collection

European paintings, photographs from the 1830s and a garden by Robert Irwin

The museum shows European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts from before the 20th century, and photographs from the 1830s to the present from all over the world. The large Central Garden was designed by Robert Irwin. A three-car, cable-pulled train carries visitors from the parking garage at the bottom of the hill to the campus on top.