Los Angeles’s Getty Center has revealed preliminary details of its upcoming campus renovation project, which was announced last month. Focusing on the visitor experience of physically getting to its hilltop site above Brentwood, these include parking upgrades, replacing the campus’s famous tram and renovating the welcome centre. The full revamp is expected to cost between $600m and $800m.
One of the most significant changes will be a new green space and sheltered stairway designed by Gehry Partners, the firm founded by the late architect Frank Gehry. Located at the lower tram stop, the modifications will create a much more welcoming area for visitors awaiting the tram.
The new tram, replacing the original one used since the centre’s inauguration in 1997, will be designed by the Austrian ski-lift manufacturer Doppelmayr to create more space for passengers inside—though it appears from the renderings that it may consequently have less seating.
Interior rendering of the new Getty Tram Courtesy Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group
And at the top of the hill, a welcome hall by Why Architecture—designer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s overhauled Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, among many other museum projects—will feature an expanded bookstore and new café.
“This comprehensive programme of campus-wide upgrades will strengthen the site’s sustainability and accessibility,” Tim Whalen, the Getty Conservation Institute’s director and J. Paul Getty Trust’s vice president of institutional planning, said in a statement, “reaffirming our long-term commitment to its stewardship through sustained investment in maintenance, while elevating the quality, comfort and depth of our visitors’ experience.”
The Getty Center will close to the public on 15 March 2027 for a year, reopening in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Getty will continue working with partners in Los Angeles and beyond during the closure, as well as expanding programming at the Getty Villa.
