Getty Center#Central Garden

File:Getty USGS.jpg satellite image of the Getty Center. The circular building to the left is the Getty Research Institute. The two buildings at the top are the Getty Trust administrative offices and the rest is the museum.]]

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 1970s, Getty built a replica of an Italian villa on his home's land to better house his collection, which opened in 1974. After Getty's death in 1976, the entire property was turned over to the Getty Trust for museum purposes. However, the collection outgrew the site, which has since been renamed the Getty Villa, and management sought a location more accessible to Los Angeles. The purchase of the land upon which the center is located, a campus of {{convert|24|acre|ha}} on a {{convert|110|acre|ha|adj=on}} site in the Santa Monica Mountains above Interstate 405, surrounded by {{convert|600|acre|ha}} kept in a natural state, was announced in 1983. The top of the hill is {{convert|900|ft|m}} above sea level, high enough that on a clear day it is possible to see not only the Los Angeles skyline but also the San Bernardino Mountains, and San Gabriel Mountains to the east as well as the Pacific Ocean to the west.Morgenstern, Joe. Getty opens mammoth hilltop center to public. Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition), December 16, 1997.Hardy, Terri. "Covering all angles – 'preview' a coveted assignment". Daily News of Los Angeles, December 10, 1997.

The price tag of the center totaled $733 million which includes $449 million for construction, $115 million for the land and site work, $30 million for fixtures and equipment, and $139 million for insurance, engineers' and architects' fees, permits and safety measures, according to Stephen D. Rountree, former director of the Getty's building program and director of operations and planning for the trust.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

Current appraisal for the property fluctuates with the market, but in June 2013 the land and buildings were estimated at $3.853 billion (art not included).{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In 1984, Richard Meier was chosen to be the architect of the center.Miller, Daryl H. Meier: centering on a landmark. Daily News of Los Angeles, December 20, 1987. After an extensive conditional-use permit process,Moody, Lori. "In the home stretch – half-finished Getty Center nearing landmark status". Daily News of Los Angeles, April 18, 1995. construction by the Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company{{cite news|url=http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2007/aug/27/getty-center/|date=August 27, 2007|work=Los Angeles Business Journal|title=Getty Center|access-date=January 12, 2011}} began in August 1989."Construction under way on Getty Center". Los Angeles Times, August 13, 1989. The construction was significantly delayed, with the planned completion date moved from 1988 to 1995 (as of 1990).Muchnic, Suzanne. "Catching up with the Getty Center. Art: A look at the $350-million Getty Center in Brentwood as it moves toward a 1995 completion date". Los Angeles Times, October 22, 1990. By 1995, however, the campus was described as only "more than halfway complete".

The center ultimately opened to the public on December 16, 1997.Sullivan, Deborah. "Getty's message to the world: Come on in!" Daily News of Los Angeles, December 17, 1997. Although the total project cost was estimated to be $350 million as of 1990, it was later estimated to be $1.3 billion.Muchnic, Suzanne. "Five years of the Getty; Isolated? Elitist? L.A. makes the Getty its own in surprising ways". Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2002. After the center opened, the villa closed for extensive renovations and reopened on January 28, 2006, to focus on the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/museum/about.html|title=About the Museum|publisher=Getty Museum|access-date=November 25, 2010}} Currently, the museum displays collections at both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades.

In 2005, after a series of articles in the Los Angeles Times about the spending practices of the Getty Trust and its then-president Barry Munitz, the California Attorney General conducted an investigation of the Getty Trust and found that no laws had been broken. The trust agreed to appoint an outside monitor to review future expenditures.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/about/governance/pdfs/caag_report.pdf|title=Report of the Attorney General's Investigation of the J. Paul Getty Trust|publisher=State of California|access-date=November 25, 2010}} The Getty Trust experienced financial difficulties in 2008 and 2009 and cut 205 of 1,487 budgeted staff positions to reduce expenses.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/about/governance/trustreport/trust_report_09.pdf|title=2009 Annual Report|page=5|publisher=Getty Trust|access-date=November 15, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/news/press/center/budget_media_statement_09.html|title=Statement from Getty Trust President and CEO James Wood regarding Getty's FY 2010 budget|date=April 27, 2009|publisher=J. Paul Getty Trust|access-date=November 25, 2010|archive-date=March 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319041714/https://www.getty.edu/news/press/center/budget_media_statement_09.html|url-status=dead}} Although the Getty Trust endowment reached $6.4 billion in 2007, it dropped to $4.5 billion in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/about/governance/trustreport/trust_report_09.pdf|title=2009 Annual Report|page=70|publisher=Getty Trust|access-date=November 15, 2010}} The endowment rebounded to $6.2 billion by 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-xpm-2014-mar-13-la-et-cm-getty-finances-20140313-story.html|title=Getty endowment rises to $6.2 billion for 2013|last=Boehm|first=Mike|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 13, 2014|access-date=March 26, 2015}}

File:GettyCenterGarden031903.jpg in the background]]

Meier has exploited the two naturally-occurring ridges (which diverge at a 22.5 degree angle) by overlaying two grids along these axes. These grids serve to define the space of the campus while dividing the import of the buildings on it. Along one axis lie the galleries and along the other axis lie the administrative buildings. Meier emphasized the two competing grids by constructing strong view lines through the campus. The main north–south axis starts with the helipad, then includes a narrow walkway between the auditorium and north buildings, continues past the elevator kiosk to the tram station, through the rotunda, past the walls and support columns of the exhibitions pavilion, and finally the ramp besides the west pavilion and the central garden. Its corresponding east–west visual axis starts with the edge of the scholar's wing of the Getty Research Institute (GRI), the walkway between the central garden and the GRI, the overlook to the azalea pool in the central garden, the walkway between the central garden and the west pavilion, and finally the north wall of the west pavilion and the courtyard between the south and east pavilions.

File:Getty Center fountain California from NW on 2009-02-08.png

The main axes of the museum grid that is offset by 22.5 degrees begins with the arrival plaza, carries through the edge of the stairs up to the main entrance, aligns with the columns supporting the rotunda as well as the center point of the rotunda, aligns with travertine benches in the courtyard between the pavilions, includes a narrow walkway between the west and south pavilions, a staircase down to the cactus garden and ends in the garden. The corresponding cross axis starts with the center point of the circle forming the GRI library garden, then passing to the center of the entrance rotunda, and aligning with the south wall of the rotunda building. Although all of the museum is aligned on these alternative axes, portions of the exhibitions pavilion and the east pavilion are aligned on the true north–south axis as a reminder that both grids are present in the campus.{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/buildingtypebasi0000rose/page/25 25]|title=Building type basics for museums|first= Arthur |last=Rosenblatt|year=2001|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=0471349151|access-date=November 27, 2010|url=https://archive.org/details/buildingtypebasi0000rose|url-access=registration|quote=Getty Center.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reed.edu/getty/designaxes.html|title=Design Axes and Diagrams|publisher=Reed College|access-date=November 27, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306125726/http://www.reed.edu/getty/designaxes.html|archive-date=March 6, 2016}}

The primary grid structure is a {{convert|30|in|mm|adj=on}} square; most wall and floor elements are {{convert|30|in|mm|adj=on}} squares or some derivative thereof. The buildings at the Getty Center are made from concrete and steel with either travertine or aluminium cladding. Around {{convert|1200000|sqft|m2}} of travertine was used to build the center.

Throughout the campus, numerous fountains provide white noise as a background. The initial design has remained intact; however benches and fences have been installed around the plaza fountains to discourage visitors from wading into the pools. Some additional revisions have been made in deference to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

File:Getty Center Tram Station Los Angeles.jpg

The north promontory is anchored by a circular grass area, which serves as a heliport in case of emergencies, and the south promontory is anchored by a succulent plant and cactus garden. The complex is also encircled by access roads that lead to loading docks and staff parking garages on both the west and east sides of the buildings. The hillside around the complex has been planted with California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees.

The museum has a seven-story deep underground parking garage with over 1,200 parking spaces.{{cite web |url=http://www.getty.edu/visit/center/plan/parking.html |title=Parking and Transportation | Getty Center |website=www.getty.edu |access-date=December 3, 2018}} There is a cost for parking in the garage depending on the day of the week and time visited.

An automated three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain people mover, the "Getty Center Tram", takes passengers between the parking garage at the bottom of the hill and the museum at the top of the hill. The tram runs continuously throughout the day

Its roof has an outdoor sculpture garden.

File:2003-12-15 Getty Center panorama.jpg

Visitors typically arrive at a tram station in the arrival plaza located between the administrative buildings and the museum entrance. A large set of steps leads to the main doors of the rotunda building. The rotunda building houses information desks, two orientation theatres and museum shops. It also holds a grand staircase that starts a path toward the paintings located on the second floor of each art pavilion. The rotunda opens to the south to a terrace that links all five of the museum pavilions. A separate building to the west of the arrival plaza and stairs holds a cafeteria and restaurant. Next to the restaurant is a stone arch, which separates the museum from the GRI. Stairs from the terrace connecting the GRI and the restaurant lead down to the central garden.

{{main|J. Paul Getty Museum}}

The J. Paul Getty Museum's estimated 1.8 million visitors annually make it one of the most visited museums in the United States.Baedeker, Rob. [http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/most-visited-museums-story.html?partner=aol America's 25 most visited museums.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091102180308/http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/most-visited-museums-story.html?partner=aol |date=November 2, 2009 }} ForbesTraveler.com, September 21, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2008. The collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum on display at the Getty Center includes "pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and 19th- and 20th-century American and European photographs".[http://www.getty.edu/museum/about.html About the J. Paul Getty Museum.] Retrieved November 23, 2013. The paintings include:

File:Getty Center patio.jpg

• Arii Matamoe (The Royal End) by Paul Gauguin (1892). The museum's director, Michael Brand, stated that the purchase of the painting was "one of the key moments in the history of our collection".Wyatt, Edward. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/arts/design/12gett.html "Getty Museum buys a seldom-exhibited Gauguin".] New York Times, March 12, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2008. The literal translation of the Tahitian words of the title are "noble" and "sleeping eyes", which implies "death".{{cite web|publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum|url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/243174/paul-gauguin-arii-matamoe-the-royal-end-french-1892/|title=Arii Matamoe (The Royal End)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315203112/https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/243174/paul-gauguin-arii-matamoe-the-royal-end-french-1892/|archive-date=March 15, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=September 1, 2020}}
• Irises by Vincent van Gogh (1889). The museum purchased the painting in 1990; it had sold for $53.9 million in 1987.{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=March 22, 1990 |title=Getty buys van Gogh "Irises," but won't tell price |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/22/arts/getty-buys-van-gogh-irises-but-won-t-tell-price.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330013648/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/22/arts/getty-buys-van-gogh-irises-but-won-t-tell-price.html |archive-date=March 30, 2019}}
• Portrait of a Halberdier by Pontormo (1528–1530).J. Paul Getty Museum. [http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=945 Portrait of a Halberdier (Francesco Guardi?).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730234154/http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=945 |date=July 30, 2009 }} Retrieved August 26, 2008. When the museum bought the painting for $35.2 million at an auction in 1989, "the price more than tripled the previous record at auction for an Old Master painting".{{Cite news |last=Reif |first=Rita |date=June 1, 1989 |title=Old Master auctioned for record $35 million |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/01/arts/old-master-auctioned-for-record-35-million.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219003857/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/01/arts/old-master-auctioned-for-record-35-million.html |archive-date=December 19, 2019}}
• A copy of Portrait of Louis XIV, which measures 114 x 62-5/8 inches, by the workshop of Hyacinthe Rigaud (after 1701).{{cite web|publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum|url=https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/547/after-hyacinthe-rigaud-portrait-of-louis-xiv-french-after-1701/|title=Portrait of Louis XIV|access-date=September 2, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605184840/http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/547/after-hyacinthe-rigaud-portrait-of-louis-xiv-french-after-1701/|archive-date= June 5, 2020}}

Getty's extensive photograph collection is located on the lower level of the west pavilion.{{cite web|url=https://www.getty.edu/visit/study_room.html|title=The Photographs Study Room|publisher=Getty Museum|access-date=November 28, 2010}}

File:Inner Courtyard of Getty Museum.jpg

The museum building consists of a three-level base building that is closed to the public and provides staff workspace and storage areas. Five public, two-story towers on the base are called the North, East, South, West and the Exhibitions Pavilions. The Exhibitions Pavilion acts as the temporary residence for traveling art collections and the Foundation's artwork for which the permanent pavilions have no room. The permanent collection is displayed throughout the other four pavilions chronologically: the north houses the oldest art while the west houses the newest.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/visit/see_do/art.html|title=Art on View|publisher=Getty Trust|access-date=November 15, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011000142/http://www.getty.edu/visit/see_do/art.html|archive-date=October 11, 2012}} The first-floor galleries in each pavilion house light-sensitive art, such as illuminated manuscripts, furniture, or photography. Computer-controlled skylights on the second-floor galleries allow paintings to be displayed in natural light. The second floors are connected by a series of glass-enclosed bridges and open terraces, both of which offer views of the surrounding hillsides and central plaza. Sculpture is also on display at various points outside the buildings, including on various terraces and balconies. The lower level (the highest of the floors in the base) includes a public cafeteria, the terrace cafe, and the photography galleries.Getty Center Map.

Programs at the museum consist of exhibitions, family workshops, school visits, performances, talks, and tours.{{cite web |title=What's On |url=https://www.getty.edu/whats-on/ |website=Getty |publisher=Getty Center |access-date=24 April 2023}} Brochures at the museum have been provided for youth who visit the museum to engage them in a sort of scavenger hunt for exhibits and art throughout the museum along with fun facts regarding items listed on the brochure.

File:Getty 01.jpg

File:Getty Center from Central Garden on 2009-02-08.png

The {{convert|134000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Central Garden at the Getty Center is the work of artist Robert Irwin.[http://www.getty.edu/visit/see_do/gardens.html Gardens (Visit the Getty).] Retrieved August 23, 2008. Planning for the garden began in 1992, construction started in 1996, and the garden was completed in December 1997.[http://www.getty.edu/news/press/arch/cntrlgrd.html The Central Garden (Getty Press Release).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319090234/https://www.getty.edu/news/press/arch/cntrlgrd.html |date=2020-03-19 }} Retrieved August 23, 2008.

Irwin was quoted as saying that the Central Garden "is a sculpture in the form of a garden, which aims to be art".Wilson, Karen C. "The Getty Center Museum quality Center's largest 'exhibit' will surely grow on visitors". San Diego Union-Tribune, November 30, 1997. Water plays a major role in the garden. A fountain near the restaurant flows toward the garden and appears to fall into a grotto on the north garden wall. The resulting stream then flows down the hillside into the azalea pool. The designers placed rocks and boulders of varying size in the stream bed to vary the sounds from the flowing water. A tree-lined stream descends to a plaza, while the walkway criss-crosses the stream, which continues through the plaza, and goes over a stone waterfall into a round pool. A maze of azaleas floats in the pool, around which is a series of specialty gardens. More than 500 varieties of plant material are used for the Central Garden, but the selection is "always changing, never twice the same".

After the original design, an outdoor sculpture garden, called the "Lower Terrace Garden" was added in 2007 on the west side of the central garden just below the scholar's wing of the GRI building.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/art/installation_highlights/previews/outdoor_sculpture.html|title=Modern Outdoor Sculpture at the Getty Center|publisher=Getty Museum|access-date=November 24, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/news/press/center/stark_release_040907.html|date=April 9, 2007|title=New modern sculpture installation scheduled to open at the Getty Center this June|publisher=Getty Museum|access-date=November 25, 2010|archive-date=March 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319065202/https://www.getty.edu/news/press/center/stark_release_040907.html|url-status=dead}}

{{main|Getty Research Institute}}

The Getty Research Institute (GRI) is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts".[https://www.getty.edu/research/institute/ About the Research Institute (Research at the Getty).] Retrieved August 23, 2008. Among other holdings, GRI's research library contains over 900,000 volumes of books, periodicals, and auction catalogs; special collections; and two million photographs of art and architecture.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/index.html|title=Research Library Overview (Research at the Getty)|access-date=August 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060107174910/http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/index.html|archive-date=January 7, 2006|url-status=dead}} GRI's other activities include exhibitions, publications, and a residential scholars program. At the Getty Center, GRI is located to the west of the museum.{{cite web|url=http://www.getty.edu/visit/places/architecture.html|title=The Getty Center — Architectural Description|publisher=Getty Museum|access-date= September 10, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405074943/http://www.getty.edu/visit/places/architecture.html|archive-date=April 5, 2004}} The round building encircles a landscaped garden and is located to the west of the central garden. The main entrance of GRI is connected by a terrace to the main arrival court of the museum, with outdoor sculptures placed along the route. GRI has one art gallery on its entrance level that is open to the public.

File:Getty Center.jpg. East Building, North Building and Auditorium are closest to camera.]]

Meier also designed three other buildings located next to the north promontory and offset at a 22.5 degree angle from the main axis of the museum pavilions. The north-most building is an auditorium. Next to it is the North Building, with the East Building sitting between the North Building and the rotunda. The main entrance to the East Building is flanked by two round silos that hold its elevators. A bridge over a sunken courtyard links the main entrance of the East Building to the main walkway that connects the auditorium and North Buildings to the rotunda. These buildings house the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Getty Foundation. These buildings are generally closed to the public except for special events held in the auditorium. They are linked to the museum both by landscaped terraces and by an enclosed glass walkway that leads from the main rotunda.

{{main|Getty Conservation Institute}}

GCI, which is headquartered at the Getty Center but also has facilities at the Getty Villa, commenced operation in 1985.J. Paul Getty Trust. [http://www.getty.edu/conservation/institute/ About the Conservation Institute.] Retrieved August 24, 2008. It "serves the conservation community through scientific research, education and training, model field projects, and the dissemination of the results of both its own work and the work of others in the field" and "adheres to the principles that guide the work of the Getty Trust: service, philanthropy, teaching, and access". GCI has activities in both art conservation and architectural conservation.Adams, Eric. "The Getty's conservation mission". Architecture, December 1997, vol. 86, issue 12.

The Getty Foundation awards grants for "the understanding and preservation of the visual arts".Getty Foundation.[http://www.getty.edu/foundation/about.html About the Foundation.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907031022/http://getty.edu/foundation/about.html |date=September 7, 2008 }} Retrieved September 18, 2008. In addition, it runs the Getty Leadership Institute for "current and future museum leaders".Getty Foundation. [http://www.getty.edu/leadership/ The Leadership Institute.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629025439/http://www.getty.edu/leadership/ |date=2011-06-29 }} Retrieved September 18, 2008. Its offices are north of the museum. The foundation offices are located in the two administrative buildings that are north of the museum. The J. Paul Getty Trust, which oversees the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Research Institute, and J. Paul Getty Museum, also has offices there.

File:Getty Center view 2008.jpg

Although the center's site was thought to have little motion during earthquakes, which are frequent in the Los Angeles area, in 1994, as the center was being constructed, the Northridge earthquake struck.Rosenbaum, Lee. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n5_v86/ai_n27528715/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1 "View from the Getty: what its billions bought".] Art in America, May 1998. Retrieved October 23, 2008. It caused "disturbing hairline cracks... in the welds and plated joints of the steel framework".{{cite book | last = Meier | first = Richard | title = Building the Getty | publisher = New York: Alfred A. Knopf | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0375400438 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/buildinggetty00meie }} As a result, the steelwork through the site was retrofitted. The center's buildings are thought to be able to survive an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.

The Getty Center's architect, Richard Meier, has incorporated a robust anti-fire engineering, leading the Getty to later describe itself as "the safest place for art during a fire".{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=Matt |date=2025-01-11 |title=Palisades Fire Could Test Getty Center’s Efforts to Protect Its Art Collection |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/us/getty-center-museum-pacific-palisades-fire.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |last2=Gates |first2=Guilbert |date=2017-12-12 |title=Why the Getty Center’s Art Stayed Put as Fires Raged Nearby |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/12/arts/design/getty-center-fire-evacuation.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The buildings are made of travertine, chosen specifically for its fire-resistant qualities, concrete and protected steel. These are surrounded by travertine plazas with well-irrigated landscaping that is designed to slow down the spread of fire. Oak trees are regularly pruned so that their canopies remain high off the ground. The native flammable chaparral was removed and fire-resistant poverty weed was added to the slopes around the center. Each year, a herd of goats is rented to clear brush on the surrounding hills.Bartholomew, Dana. "No visit of the Santa Anas is a match for the blazing brush clearance skills of – Getty's goats". Daily News of Los Angeles, May 14, 2008. Additionally, the roofs of the Getty buildings are covered with fire-resistant crushed stone. At the north end of the center, a tank with {{convert|1000000|gal|L|abbr=on}} of water, together with a grass-covered helipad, allow helicopters to collect water.{{Cite journal |last=Cosin |first=Elizabeth |date=August 18, 1996 |title=Museum designed to enhance art experience |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MUSEUM+DESIGNED+TO+ENHANCE+ART+EXPERIENCE-a083960032 |url-status=dead |journal=Daily News of Los Angeles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233012/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MUSEUM+DESIGNED+TO+ENHANCE+ART+EXPERIENCE-a083960032 |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |access-date=September 5, 2020}}{{Cite journal |last=Feigenbaum |first=Gail |date=2005-07-01 |title=Radical Cactus: The Other Garden at the Getty Center – AHR |url=http://australianhumanitiesreview.org/2005/07/01/radical-cactus-the-other-garden-at-the-getty-center/ |url-status=live |journal=Australian Humanities Review |language=en-US |publisher=Association for the Study of Australian Literature |issn=1325-8338 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120225517/http://australianhumanitiesreview.org/2005/07/01/radical-cactus-the-other-garden-at-the-getty-center/ |archive-date=2022-01-20 |access-date=2022-01-20}} The access ramp from the entry plaza to the museum was constructed to allow a fire truck to pass over it.

Interiors have walls made of reinforced concrete or fire-protected steel, outfitted with automatic fire doors to seal off areas of the building. The air system is designed to maintain a pressure flow that keeps smoke from entering the building during a fire outside. In the 16 electrical transformers at the center, silicone fluid is used as a coolant "with less risk of ignition" than hydrocarbon coolant.Parson, Ellen. "Transformer system provides reliability and fire safety at Getty Complex". EC&M Electrical Construction & Maintenance, January 1998, Vol. 97, Issue 1. The sprinkler system, described as a "last resort", is designed to balance "between the potential damage of a fire and the risk of water damage to valuable artwork".Earls, Alan R. [http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=737&cookie_test=1 Balancing art and fire safety.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609070954/http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=737&cookie_test=1|date=June 9, 2011}} NFPA Journal, January 2003. Retrieved October 23, 2008.

In 2017, the Skirball Fire nearly spread to the Getty Center, when an ember drifted over to the Getty hill on December 6. The damp earth, soaked with 1.2 million gallons of water from the Getty's network of irrigation pipes, is said to have prevented the fire from spreading and it was put out by the fire department with no further damage. During the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, the Getty Center was placed in the mandatory evacuation zone due to the spread of the Palisades Fire.{{clr}}

{{wide image|Los angeles from getty panorama.jpg|1200px|A near 180-degree panoramic view of Los Angeles looking south from the Getty on an exceptionally clear day}}

The 2013 videogame Grand Theft Auto V features a museum based on the Getty Center, called the Kortz Center.{{cite web|url= https://gamerant.com/grand-theft-auto-v-locations-real-life/|title= GTA 5 Locations That Are Based On Real-Life|first1=Ritwik|last1=Mitra|first2=Ben|last2=Painter|date=May 19, 2024|work=Game Rant}}

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• {{cite book | last = Brawne | first = Michael | title = The Getty Center: Richard Meier & Partners | publisher = London: Phaidon | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0714837994}}
• {{cite book | last = Deal | first = Joe |author-link=Joe Deal |title = Between Nature and Culture: Photographs of the Getty Center by Joe Deal | url = https://archive.org/details/betweennaturecul0000deal | url-access = registration | publisher = Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-0892365494}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Didion |first1=Joan|author-link=Joan Didion |title=Getty's Little House on the Highway |journal=Esquire |date=March 1977 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/1977/3/1/gettys-little-house-on-the-highway}} (This essay is also included in Didion's 1979 book The White Album under the title "The Getty")
• {{cite book | last = Duggan | first = Jim |author2=Becky Cohen | title = Plants in the Getty's Central Garden | publisher = Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0892367146}}
• {{cite book | last = Mulas | first = Antonia |author2=Richard Meier |author3=Massimo Vignelli | title = Richard Meier: The Getty Center | publisher = Tolentino (Macerata): Poltrona Frau | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-8881582693}}
• {{cite book | last = Weschler | first = Lawrence |author2=Becky Cohen | title = Robert Irwin Getty Garden | publisher = Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0892366200}}
• {{cite book | last = Williams | first = Harold Marvin | title = The Getty Center: Design Process | publisher = Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0892362103}}
• {{cite book | last = Williams | first = Harold Marvin | title = Making Architecture: The Getty Center | publisher = Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0892364633}}

{{refend}}

{{commons category|Getty Center}}

• [http://www.getty.edu/ The Getty]
• [http://www.getty.edu/museum/ J. Paul Getty Museum]
• [http://academic.reed.edu/getty/ Architecture of the Getty Center] (800 photographs categorized by location and by subject of photograph)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070105125436/http://www.landliving.com/articles/0000000048.aspx Gardens of the Getty Center] (LandLiving.com)
• [http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=34.078~-118.475&style=o&lvl=1&sp=Point.34.078_-118.475_Getty_Center___ Microsoft Virtual Earth view of the Center at a different angle]

{{Getty Trust}}

{{Los Angeles Westside}}

{{Los Angeles}}

{{Authority control}}

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