THE GETTY CENTER: LA’s Modern ‘Acropolis’

By Ruperto (Pert) G. Toga,
NDB President & Editor-in-Chief

in Long Beach, California, USA

One of Los Angeles’ finest cultural destinations today is the 14-year-old Getty Center, an exquisite art collection with its superb architecture and lovely gardens on a hilltop location overlooking most of Los Angeles City and the LA county.

This rare upland center, built at a cost of more than $1 billion over a period of 14 years, has become one of California’s top tourist attractions, notably for the art and culture habitues, the researchers, scientists and professionals from all over the world who often come here in droves.

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We joined a big batch of tourists and curious locals who went up the 900-foot (275-M) or 24-acre campus-like structure on the edge of the Santa Monica mountains, via a number of electric trams going up the complex every five minutes. With me in the mountain trek last Sunday afternoon were our gracious hosts, Patrick and Eva Erpe of Panorama City who are both Filipinos from Negros Occidental. The route from the center gate to the hilltop-site of the Getty Center is 1.2 kilometers where the mountain air is fresh and the view, panoramic.

The uphill tour was pleasant, cool and enjoyable, giving us a commanding view of the lowlands, the hilltop site with its imposing presence, far removed from the city noise and bustle of urban living.

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An amazing feat of architecture and engineering, it was designed by New York-based modernist Richard Meier (b.1930), an internationally-acclaimed architect who also drafted the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

For the Getty, Meier arranged the main buildings along two natural ridges connected by creative landscaping.

Curvilmear elements, such as the Museum Entrance Hall, combine with angular structures to create an effect of fluidity and openness. This is further enhanced by the rise of travertine, a honey-colored stone quarried in Italy, which covers most buildings - many of the stones still bear fossilized leaves and feathers.

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The Getty, says an advisory from DK Eyewitness Travel, "is an exquisite, superb architecture and lovely gardens which combine with a hilltop location to create one of LA’s finest places for weekend relaxation, educational and cultural exhibits.

The area unites the entities of the Getty Trust created by the late oil tycoon and multi-billionaire J. Paul Getty (1892-1976), including research and conservation institutes. At its core, however, is the museum with exquisite European art from illuminated manuscripts to impressionist paintings, contemporary sculpture and photography.

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Here are the top ten artworks at the Getty Center: The Irises; Young Woman at a Table; Wheatstacks; Snow Effect Morning; The Abduction of Europa; Venus and Adonis; Christ’s Entry Into Brussels in 1889; La Promenade; Cabinet on Stand; and The Adoration of the Magi.

The Top Ten Features of the Getty are: Electric Tram; Panoramic Views; Central Garden; Getty Guide; Decorative Arts; The Illuminated Manuscripts; Drawings; Photography; European Art and Sculpture.

The Getty Center is also listed among LA’s Top Ten Sights in the area of Beverly Hills, Westwood and Bel Air. The tribute for Getty states: "Although best known for its collection of European Art, the Getty Center offers much more - A hilltop setting with sweeping views from the ocean to the mountains, architecture as exquisite as "frozen music," to quote the famous Goethe, and the landscaped gardens that are nothing less than the finest art.

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Moreover, the extraordinary Getty Center is acclaimed being on top of LA’s "architectural landmarks," said to outshine the art displayed within its galleries. Wold-renown Architect Richard Meier has created an elegant, sophisticated space that is nevertheless warmly welcoming and inviting to visitors and tourists. The nine other "architectural wonders" in tinseltown are the stunning Pasadena Craftsman’s bungalow; the Schindler’s House and studio of Rudolf Schindler; the Hollyhock House which is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpieces; the Wayfarer’s Glass Chapel overlooking the Pacific on Palos Verdes; Chiat Day Building; Walt Disney Concert Hall; the Chemosphere on Hollywood Hills; Bradbury Building, one of LA’s Supreme architectural landmarks; and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.*