The Getty Center, the main campus for the Getty Foundation’s two Los Angeles museums, announced that it will close for renovations for about a year.
The closure is expected to last from spring 2027 to spring 2028, meaning that the institution will reopen in time for the Olympics. The last public day of the museum will be in about 11 months from now, on March 15, 2027.
In a release, the Getty termed the renovations “modernization initiatives,” which would be the first since the museum opened in 1997. The goal, per the release, is to “elevate the overall visitor experience, enhance accessibility, strengthen energy resilience and support the long-term stewardship of the site’s iconic campus.”
The focus on “resilience” is especially crucial for the institution given that it rests on a hill above Brentwood and has been in recent years been forced to close because the wildfires that frequently occur in these brushy parts of LA County. The campus has several mechanisms already in place that make it less susceptible to damage from wildfires.
The renovations at the Getty Center will be focused on updating the galleries, the Welcome Hall, and the tram, which shuttles visitors from the parking lot to the top of the hill. The museum will also add a cafe to the Welcome Hall and reformat its retail shop there. The Getty will also introduce new artist commissions to its campus
Other modernization efforts will be less notable, like improving Wi-Fi and cell service, which can be spotty at times given the Getty Center’s elevation and location above Brentwood. The museum has already begun some of this work, as some galleries are currently closed in order to update the HVAC system.
For the year-long closure, the Getty will shift its attention to the Getty Villa, designed to resemble an ancient Roman villa as a place for J. Paul Getty to house his collection of antiquities. To this day, the site in Malibu houses that part of the collection. During the closure, however, the Getty will dedicate a gallery to paintings that are typically on long-term via at the Center. (The Getty Villa reopened in June 2025 after several months of closure following the LA wildfires that January.)
Additionally, the Getty will rent a space on Sepulveda Boulevard, across from the Center’s entrance, to host programming. That space is currently being renovated.
“Getty is embarking on an exciting new chapter,” said Katherine E. Fleming, the president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which oversees the Getty Center. “Our mission has always been to make art accessible to our Los Angeles community and visitors from around the world. In the coming years, guided by our commitment to All for Art, we will enhance the visitor experience across the Getty Center campus through reimagined spaces and new offerings, while prioritizing sustainability. We look forward to welcoming visitors back in spring 2028, in time to celebrate the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles and experience our more accessible, resilient, and dynamic campus.”
