Pacific ocean view from Getty Center

Visiting the Getty to see amazing photos and views of Los Angeles

Entrance to Getty Museum
I love the play of light and shadow in the entrance to the museum complex.

I went to the Getty Center yesterday to see an exhibition of the photography of Ishiuchi Miyako.  She launched her career taking photos of U.S. Occupation images in her home town after WW II.  No photography is allowed in their galleries, so you will have to rely on my opinion that the exhibition is definitely worth the trip. And don’t miss the Edible Moment show in the Research Institute to see an actual sugar sculpture.

At the Getty in November, I thought, there would be few tourists.  Well, it must be school break time in Japan.  There were hundreds and hundreds of Japanese teenagers around, most of them looking as bored as teenagers do everywhere.

Japanese students at Getty Museum
Hundreds of Japanese students were visiting the Getty on a warm November day.

Aside from the students, the tourist numbers were few–to the extent that the Terrace Cafe overlooking the gardens was closed.

Anyway…here are some photos I took:

The Terrace cafe has amazing views of Los Angeles and Santa Monica. I could even see the ocean in the distance for the first time ever!
The Terrace cafe, closed for the winter, has amazing views of the westside of Los Angeles and Santa Monica. I could even see the ocean in the distance for the first time ever!  The photo at the top of this post gives a better view of the Pacific. Another cafe is still open and I had a good tostada for lunch.

 

Between the trees in this photo is a path leading down to the Central Garden.  The trees still have a few leaves left on them.
Between the trees in this photo is a path leading down to the Central Garden. The sycamore trees still have a few leaves left on them.

 

Children rolling on Getty lawn
Little children were having a great time rolling downhill on the neatly trimmed lawn. I remember rolling downhill as a child, but it was never on a lawn this well groomed. It was fun!

 

Robert Irwin gardens at Getty
The Central Garden at the Getty was designed by Robert Irwin. Low-water usage plants and trees predominate.

 

Los Angeles from the Getty
Looking eastward across the city of Los Angeles. Downtown L.A. is that cluster of buildings in the distance, to the left. (If you think the smog is bad in this photo–well, it’s not.  Back in the 1970s you probably could not have seen downtown at all.  Maybe not even those tall building much closer.