The Getty Center

The Getty Center is the most famous museum in Los Angeles. The museum of oil billionaire Jean Paul Getty opened in 1997. The extensive art collection of the Getty is exhibited in the building complex designed by New York architect Richard Meier. The Getty Center is much more than just a museum; it is itself a work of art in architecture and garden design. The white museum complex stands on a hill north of Santa Monica. The visitor parking lot is in the valley through which Freeway 405 winds. From the parking lot you can take a train to the museum on the hill. Once at the top, you stand on a square with individual buildings of the Getty Center. Between the buildings there are gaps with views on the green hills, the LA skyline or the sea.

The Getty Museum's collection consists of ancient sculptures, European paintings, drawings and photographs. If you want you can spend a whole day here, there are restaurants and cafes. The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades is also worth a visit. The villa is modeled after a Roman palace and stands on Pacific Coast Highway 17985.

Famous buildings by Richard Meier:

Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt   Museo d'Art Contemporani Barcelona   Bürohaus Basel   Stadthuis Den Haag

 

1200 Getty Drive

www.getty.edu

 

George C. Page Museum

The George C. Page Museum displays the remains of ancient animals found in La Brea. The La Brea Tar Pits are tar pits in which skeletons of animals have been found that lived in the Los Angeles Basin around 40,000 years ago and died in the tar. Saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, camels, bison, condor and other species have been found in the pits. A tar pool has been built in front of the museum, in which a mammoth is just sinking.

 

5801 Wilshire Blvd. 

www.tarpits.org

 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The County Museum has a wide collection, from Egyptian sculptures to Islamic art, you can also find works from French Impressionism. Another focus of the collection is American art. Diego Rivera, Alexander Calder and Merle Armitage are just a few famous artists from the continent. Founded in 1910 the museum is the largest museum on the west coast and it is constantly expanded.

 

5905 Wilshire Blvd.

www.lacma.org

 

California Science Center

The main attraction of the technology museum in Exposition Park, is the space shuttle "Endeavor". But also the other exhibitions are very worth seeing. The "California Science Center" is very suitable for children. The IMAX Cinema shows 3D films about space, the city of Jerusalem and about animals, like whales and others. The current program can be found on the website of the museum below. The museum building was designed by Frank O. Gehry from Santa Monica, who later became famous for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

 

39th Street & Figueroa Street

www.californiasciencecenter.org

 

Map of museums in Los Angeles

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Los Angeles, California

Museums in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is not known for its unique museum landscape, but there are some very interesting museums in the city. One of Los Angeles top attractions is the "Getty Center". The museum is an architectural gem, has a wonderful garden and offers a fantastic view on the city. Also unique is the "Tar Pits Museum" right on Wilshire Boulevard. Suddenly you stand in front of a mammoth sinking into a tar pit. Something more strange is the "Museum of Death" in Hollywood. Great art can be found at the "Los Angels County Museum". 

 

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