CNN - The Getty opens its doors

Museum mecca

$1 billion and 13 years later, the Getty opens its doors

Getty Garden

December 16, 1997
Web posted at: 4:19 p.m. EST (2119 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The world's newest temple to art opened to the public Tuesday in Los Angeles. The $1 billion Getty Center is a star in a city of stars -- but this one is easier to see up close than the movie idol variety.

Architect Richard Meier, who spent 13 years designing and overseeing the construction of the Getty Center, says it was built beside one of L.A.'s infamous freeways to highlight the theme of accessibility.

But visitors must leave their cars behind at the uphill approach to this mecca of Monets and Van Goghs. The parking lot -- which requires reservations -- is at the bottom of the hill, and a tram climbs to the glimmering travertine stone building complex at the top.

It's a place geared to young and old alike. And admission, believe it or not, is absolutely free.

Read more about the Getty:

Who was J. Paul Getty? A profile of the man behind the museum	Will the Getty change L.A.'s tinseltown image?	The other Gettys: Institutes for science, research and education