The museum is a tangible, spiritual and historical and cultural legacy. Almost every city has these institutions, giving the opportunity for visitors to enrich their knowledge and enjoy art objects. The first museum was founded in 290 BC in the city of Alexandria. There are many museums in Los Angeles as well. All of them are intended for both tourists and local residents. Today the Getty Center will be the subject of our discussion. It is one of the major art museums in the United States of America. Learn more about this Center at la-future.com.
The history of the museum’s founding
The Getty Center is a museum all tourists are recommended to visit in Los Angeles. Located on the hilltop, it looks especially nice. There are cable cars that hover people to the Center from the foot of the mountain.
The museum began its history in 1954. Entrepreneur and rich man Paul Getty opened a museum of fine arts in his villa in Pacific Palisades.
The Center’s collections were constantly growing and required new space. Therefore, a plot of land in the Santa Monica Mountains was purchased for the construction of a new building for the museum.
The construction, which lasted from 1984 to 1997, was carried out by the architect Richard Meier. All Getty Center buildings are constructed of concrete and steel. Aluminum or travertine was used for cladding. There are several fountains and a helicopter landing pad on the grounds of the museum.
The museum is considered one of the most visited in the country. About 1.3 million people come here annually. That is why the Getty Center has a seven-story parking lot designed for 1,200 cars. The roof of the garage is decorated with a sculpture garden. An aerial tramway takes tourists from the parking lot to the hillside.
Besides the canvases by 20th-century European artists, sculptures and works of outstanding photographers, visitors can also feast their eyes upon the Getty Center’s Central Garden. Created by the artist Robert Irwin, it impresses with its beauty. But the trees are not the most important feature of the garden. It is the water. Flowing from the fountain into a waterfall, water falls into a pond surrounded by azaleas.
About the founder of the museum – Paul Getty
Paul Getty was born in Minneapolis to an oil tycoon family. It is clear that the boy was destined to have money and success. Paul got his education at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Oxford. After graduating in 1913, he started working for his father’s company. Three years later, Getty became a millionaire.
Paul had a weakness for women, so he got married five times. His father was deeply upset because of this and deprived his son of his inheritance. Although George Franklin Getty had millions, he left Paul only 500 thousand dollars. Despite this, Paul managed to increase his fortune by acquiring oil factories during the Great Depression.
In 1973, tragedy struck the Getty family. The millionaire’s grandson, 16-year-old Paul Getty III, was abducted in Rome. The kidnappers demanded a $17 million ransom. The boy’s father had to ask for help from his grandfather. Paul Getty, in turn, refused to give the required sum, claiming that his grandson was playing tricks on him. The kidnappers held the boy as a hostage for 5 months. It was only after they sent an envelope with a grandson’s lock of hair and his ear that Getty agreed to allocate the amount. However, the ransom amount was reduced to $3 million. Therefore, the millionaire gave his son 2.2 million dollars, while the rest of the sum was lent to him at 4% per annum.
After all the terrors the grandson had been through, he wanted to call his grandfather and thank him for the money, but Getty did not pick up the phone.
This is the history of the Getty Center and the biography of its founder, Paul Getty. We hope you enjoyed this article and made the appropriate conclusions.
