The Getty Center closes to the public on March 15, 2027, and Getty plans to reopen it in spring 2028. The first phase of the work has already started. The North Pavilion, the South Pavilion and the East Pavilion's plaza-level galleries are all closed for renovation right now. The museum you can visit this winter is a smaller, shorter last season. Brentwood is the neighborhood closest to it, so it gets the most out of the remaining weeks by planning around a few pavilions, a few dates and one time of the week.
The Closure Started Before March
Getty calls this the largest set of modernization projects since the Center opened in 1997. The gallery closures are there for the infrastructure work. According to Getty's Building Getty's Future page, the work includes replacing 80 air-handling units across all the pavilions with more efficient electrical systems. It also covers cleaning, repainting and refinishing galleries, rethinking how the collection is displayed, improving signage and building new restrooms.
The order of the closures has been gradual. In April, the Beverly Press reported that the East Pavilion galleries and part of the South Pavilion were already closed. At that point the North Pavilion was expected to close in summer and the South Pavilion to close fully toward the end of the year. Getty's current list now shows the North and South Pavilions closed, along with the East Pavilion's plaza-level galleries.
The closed galleries cut out a lot of the usual Getty visit. Most of what's left to see this season is in two places: the West Pavilion's plaza level and the East Pavilion's upper level. Both are hosting new shows, and the dates of those shows set the schedule for the rest of the season. The Central Garden and the tram from the lower station still appear in Getty's visitor guide as part of the visit.
Two Exhibitions Set the Calendar
| Exhibition | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Reggie Burrows Hodges: A Theater of Passions | East Pavilion, Upper Level | Oct 20, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027 |
| A Light in the Dark: Joseph Wright of Derby | West Pavilion, Plaza Level | Nov 24, 2026 to Mar 14, 2027 |
Both exhibitions are free, presented in English and Spanish, and included in a standard timed-entry reservation.
The Hodges installation opened on October 20. Reggie Burrows Hodges was born in Los Angeles, and he made a new series of paintings in response to the work of Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th-century father and daughter whose paintings are in the Getty's collection. The series focuses on the violence, drama and theatricality in their biblical and mythological scenes.
The Wright of Derby exhibition opens on November 24 and closes on March 14, 2027. That's the last day before the Center closes. It brings back together several of the candlelit pictures that made the British painter famous in 1760s London, including the Getty's recently rediscovered Two Boys with a Bladder. It is the last exhibition on the hilltop before the closure.
Both shows are open together from November 24 to February 28. That's the only stretch when you can see both in one visit. For the last two weeks before the closure, only the Wright exhibition will be on view.
Saturday Evening Is the Cheapest Way In
Admission is free, but you need a timed-entry reservation. The real cost of a visit is parking, and the price falls through the day:
- $25 per car or motorcycle
- $15 after 3 p.m.
- $10 after 6 p.m.
- Free after 6 p.m. on Saturdays
The Center is open Tuesday through Friday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. On Saturdays you get three hours inside after the free-parking window starts. On every other day, the reduced $10 rate starts only 30 minutes before closing.
These hours are fairly recent. In 2022, Getty moved its Saturday closing time to 8 p.m. year-round, and parking after 6 p.m. cost $10 at the time. Brentwood News reported that starting June 17, 2025, Saturdays run until 9 p.m. and parking after 6 p.m. is free, as a permanent schedule rather than a summer extension. Getty's parking page still lists Saturday parking as free after 6 p.m.
On the current schedule, there are 20 Saturdays from October 31 through March 13, 2027. None of the holiday closures Getty lists fall on a Saturday this season. The summer concert series, Off the 405, finished its 2026 season on August 22. That leaves the galleries and the evening view as the main reasons to go after dark.
One Saturday has its own program. On November 14 at 6:30 p.m., Dorian Wood gives a performance and conversation, and free tickets are required. The event page includes Getty's usual parking-fee note, while the general parking page lists Saturdays after 6 p.m. as free. Check the rate when you book.
Reservations open six weeks ahead. On October 29, that means the booking window already covers the Wright opening on November 24 and runs into early December.
What Fourteen Months Without the Hilltop Pays For
In May, Getty published the first detailed plans for the arrival area. The Lower Tram arrival and parking area is being redesigned by Gehry Partners, with expanded landscaping by OLIN. Plans include a sheltered stairway, reinstalled outdoor sculpture, new art commissions, a garden café and a retail space. All of it is meant to fit into Richard Meier and Partners' original design.
The tram has carried visitors up from the 405 since 1997 and will be replaced. The new tram, built by Doppelmayr, will be larger, and Getty says it will cut wait times. At the top of the hill, WHY Architecture is redesigning the Welcome Hall with a larger bookstore that opens onto a new full-service café. Getty also lists better cell service and Wi-Fi across the campus among the upgrades.
Getty explains the scale of the work in terms of crowds. The Center now gets more than 1.4 million visitors a year and nearly six times as many school visits as planners expected when it opened. The Los Angeles Times reported an estimated total cost of $600 million to $800 million.
While the hilltop is closed, the Getty Villa will keep its full schedule. It will also add a gallery of works from the Center's collection, so some familiar pieces will be on view during the closure in a new setting.
The Calendar From Here to March 15
- Saturday, November 7, 4 p.m.: "When the Holy Family Went Viral," a free, ticketed talk, in person and online.
- Saturday, November 14, 6:30 p.m.: Dorian Wood performance and conversation, free tickets required.
- Sunday, November 15: "Oaxacan Recipes and Remembrance with Bricia Lopez," a talk followed by a tasting, $135.
- Tuesday, November 24: A Light in the Dark: Joseph Wright of Derby opens.
- Thursday, November 26: Closed for Thanksgiving.
- December 24 and 31: Early closing for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Closed December 25 and January 1.
- Sunday, February 28: Last day of the Hodges installation.
- Saturday, March 13: Last Saturday evening on the current schedule.
- Sunday, March 14: Last day of the Wright exhibition and the Center's last day open before the closure.
- Monday, March 15: The Getty Center closes until spring 2028. Mondays are already a closed day, so the hilltop will simply stay closed after that Sunday.
Separately from the museum, the Caltrans repaving project in the Sepulveda Pass runs between Van Nuys and Westwood, with completion projected for winter 2027. It has included overnight closures of the Getty Center Drive ramps. Caltrans says those schedules can change. If you're driving up for a weekday evening visit, check the Caltrans project page before you leave.
The Getty's closing year will change the stretch of Sunset Boulevard and the 405 that Brentwood lives next to. Questions about what that means for a home nearby are best answered by someone who follows the details closely. To talk through your plans with Jeffrey Sachs, schedule a consultation.
