Los Angeles, California’s Getty Center is home to the Getty Museum and other initiatives of the Getty Trust, as well as a site for the Getty Institute. The Center, which cost $1.3 billion to build and opened to the public on December 16, 1997, is well-known for its architecture, gardens, and panoramic views over Los Angeles. Located at the top of a hill and connected to a visitors’ parking garage located at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain people mover, the Center is a destination in itself.

The J. Paul Getty Center, which is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum receives approximately 1.8 million visitors every year. Photographs from the 1830s to the present day from all over the world are on display in the Museum’s Center branch, which includes pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and photographs from the 1830s to the present day from all over the world.

Aside from that, the Museum’s collection at the Center includes outdoor sculpture that is shown on terraces and in gardens, as well as the enormous Central Garden, which was designed by Robert Irwin, among other things. Irises, a painting by Vincent van Gogh, is among the artworks on show in the museum.

The complex, which was designed by architect Richard Meier, is home to the Getty Research Institute (GRI), the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the J. Paul Getty Trust, among other institutions. Special measures were built into the Center’s architecture to handle worries about earthquakes and fires, among other things.

In most cases, visitors come to the Museum via a tram station in the arrival plaza, which is located between the administrative buildings and the Museum entrance. The main entrance to the rotunda building is reached through a long flight of stairs. This structure holds the information desks, two orientation theaters, and the Museum stores.

It also contains a magnificent staircase that serves as the starting point for a trail leading to the artworks on the second floor of each art pavilion. From the rotunda, you can see the terrace that connects all five of the Museum pavilions, which is located to the south.

The café and restaurant are located in a separate building to the west of the arrival plaza and escalators. The Museum and the GRI are separated by a stone arch, which is located next to the restaurant. Stairs leading down to the center garden can be found on the patio that connects the GRI and the restaurant.

This article was originally posted at Once Over Restoration.