Getty Center Field Trip

An aerial view of the Getty Center.  The museum is on the right.

We will be visiting the Getty Center on this Thursday, January 26th between 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM.  The museum's hours: 10:00 AM -- 5:30 PM.

Online maps say it will take 40 minutes by car from PCC to the Getty Center.  More likely it will take an hour.

Parking is $15.  Admission to the museum is free.

From the parking structure you take a tram to the Getty Center. The tram ride is about 5-10 minutes.

The Getty Center trams overlook the San Diego Freeway (405).

Near the tram stop you will be greeted by Getty Center volunteers who can offer you directions to the museum. We will meet at the entrance to the museum.

Museum entrance is up the stairs on the left.

There are tours of the Getty Center's architecture, art collection and garden. Tour information and schedule is here.


Will our class take a tour as a group?  No.  Students are free to tour as they like, at their own pace and to their own destinations.

The Getty Center has a cafe and restaurant, but you might find both a little high for your budget. You can bring your own lunch and water, etc.

Can students bring family and friends?  Of course. 

Can students car pool with fellow students?  Sure.

Bring paper and pen to take notes for your essay; you may want to bring your copy of Literature, too. Begin your essay before you leave the Getty.  You are free to select any work of art at the Getty, including the architecture and the garden; the same goes for selecting  any work of literature in our textbook---your choice--in making a comparison between your selections.


What reading do I suggest that you select? Again, I emphasize, the choice is yours.   But here's a dozen poems that may be of interest to you.  Read them before you go.


Blake, "London" (487)
Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn" (506)
Dickinson, "I felt a funeral in my brain" (534)
Frost, "Birches" (551)
Williams, "Spring and All" (558)
Eliot, "Preludes" (566)
McKay, "America" (569)
Auden, "Musee des Beaux Arts" (581)
Clifton, "at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south carolina, 1989" (644)
Bukowski, "my old man" (597)
Stern, "The Dog" (606)
Olds, "I Go Back to May 1937" (664)
Silko, "Prayer to the Pacific" (677)
Nye, "The Small Verses from Hebron" (689)
Chin, "Turtle Soup" (710)
Song, "Girl Powdering Her Neck" (711)


This list is not meant to limit you; it is just a point of departure.  You are likely to find readings in Literature that will be more important to you for this assignment.

What else? Dress for weather.  Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen can be useful.  In the past, when it rains, the Getty has provided umbrellas.

The Getty Center website is a good place to start when you are planning your visit.  You can also go to About.com for Getty Center visitor tips.   

Interior court of the Getty Museum buildings.

Do not confuse the Getty Center and its museum in Los Angeles with the Getty Villa in Malibu. We are going to the Getty Center, which has a view of West Los Angeles from its Santa Monica Mountain site above the San Diego Freeway (405).

If you cannot join us at the Getty Center on Thursday, talk to me ASAP.

Keep your eye on this post for updates throughout the week.

The garden at the Getty Center.