March 15, 2027 is the date that made the news. That is when the Getty Center closes to the public for its biggest round of upgrades since it opened in 1997. Getty plans to reopen in spring 2028. For Brentwood, the date matters less than it seems. The closing has already started, and it moves through the campus in stages, one gallery and one exhibition at a time.
Walk up from the tram today and the North Pavilion galleries are already closed. So are the East Pavilion plaza-level galleries and South Pavilion galleries 102 and 206. Three exhibitions end on October 18. Several more end around New Year's. By the final weekend in March, very little of this fall's lineup will still be up. The real deadline depends on what you want to see, and for most of it the date comes long before spring.
The First Rooms Went Dark Before Anyone Marked a Calendar
The galleries that are closed now are the first phase of the project, not a sign of the closure arriving early. Getty is replacing 80 air handling units across all of its pavilions with more efficient electrical systems. It is also cleaning, repainting and refinishing galleries, building new restrooms, and updating signage and displays. The April announcement said this HVAC work began first, with some gallery closures, and that reinstalling the galleries afterward would refresh the exhibition spaces.
So a visit this fall already covers less ground than a visit a year ago. The free admission, timed reservations, and Central Garden are unchanged, but the route through the galleries is shorter. The rooms that are still open hold this season's temporary shows, and those shows run on separate schedules.
The Calendar Runs Out in Stages
Here are the temporary exhibitions and collection highlights currently listed for the Getty Center, with their closing dates, from Getty's exhibition page as of early October 2026. The page also lists J. Paul Getty Life and Legacy as an ongoing exhibition at the Center.
| Exhibition | Last day at the Getty Center |
|---|---|
| Odilon Redon: Otherworldly Visions | October 18, 2026 |
| Lost. Found. Returned. | October 18, 2026 |
| Stendahl's World: Marketing Ancient Mexico and Modern Art in Los Angeles | October 18, 2026 |
| Charles Ross: Spectrum 14 | November 29, 2026 |
| Every Minute Is History: Five Views of Los Angeles | January 3, 2027 |
| Instante/revelación: Moments in Mexican Photography | January 3, 2027 |
| The Holy Family at Home | January 10, 2027 |
| The Making of a Medieval Manuscript | March 14, 2027 |
| Joshua Reynolds's Portrait of Mai and 18th-Century Portraiture | March 14, 2027 |
Sunday, October 18 is the first deadline, and it is close. Three exhibitions close that day. One is the Redon show, which features Getty's collection of the artist's charcoal drawings and pastels. Charles Ross: Spectrum 14 has been up since September 10, 2024, and it closes on November 29. The two photography shows close on January 3, and The Holy Family at Home follows a week later.
Of this season's dated shows, only two run to the end. The Making of a Medieval Manuscript and the Portrait of Mai collection highlight both close on March 14, 2027, the day before the Center shuts. Under current hours, that day is also the last one you can visit. March 15, 2027 is a Monday, and the Center is already closed every Monday. That makes Sunday, March 14 the final open day.
October and November Are Crowded on Purpose
The fall events are packed into the same weeks as the closing dates. Getty announced the season on September 24, and the October list at the Center is long:
- October 11: Getty Supper Club: The Literary Gourmet, part of the Tastemakers series, with communal meals based on cookbooks in the Getty Library.
- October 17: Family Festival: LA and Mexico in Focus, a full day of mariachi, ballet folklórico and bilingual storytelling inspired by the two photography exhibitions.
- October 18: On Photography, a talk with Patssi Valdez and Christina Fernandez, on the same day three exhibitions close.
- October 23: Ever Present: NOVA '78, a screening of the documentary about the 1978 Nova Convention centered on William S. Burroughs, followed by Julia Heyward performing her electronic-vocal monologue from that event.
- October 27: A Painterly Pursuit with Reggie Burrows Hodges, a conversation with the artist about his new series inspired by Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi.
November is lighter but still full. Dorian Wood performs Canto de Todes on November 14. The Holy Family Goes Viral, a talk about Getty's recently acquired painting by Gerard David, is on November 7. The second Supper Club, La Belle Époque, is on November 22. Free family programs also continue. Kalli Arte Collective leads a collage workshop, and artist Alfonso Aceves demonstrates silkscreen printing, on November 8 and 22 and December 13.
Getty has not framed this as a farewell season. On the calendar, though, most of the in-person programming at the Center before the closure falls between now and mid-December.
The Cheapest Visit Is a Saturday Evening
Admission is free, but you need a timed-entry reservation. Current hours are 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Parking costs $25 per car before 3 p.m., $15 after 3, and $10 after 6. On Saturdays, parking after 6 p.m. is free.
Saturday is the only night the Center stays open past 6:30, so it is the one time you can visit without paying anything. A Saturday arrival around six gives you three hours, which is enough for one or two exhibitions and a walk through the garden while it gets dark. The Family Festival on October 17 is also a Saturday. You could stay through the festival and into the evening, though you would pay the daytime parking rate if you arrive in the morning. These hours and fees are what Getty's site shows this fall, so check them again before a later visit.
Getting there has its own schedule. Caltrans is reducing southbound I-405 to three lanes between Ventura Boulevard and Mulholland Drive from October 23 to 26. The notice for this October work also lists a closure of the northbound Getty Center Drive off-ramp. That window starts on the night of NOVA '78. The work is part of Caltrans' $143.7 million pavement project in the Sepulveda Pass, and Caltrans says the dates can change. Brentwood News covered the earlier October restrictions on October 3. Check Caltrans QuickMap before driving up.
What Comes Back in 2028 Starts at the Bottom of the Hill
Getty's notice says the Center itself will close to the public on March 15. Much of the work is on the parts you use to get in. The project's first details, released May 28, 2026, named four firms:
- Gehry Partners is redesigning the Lower Tram arrival area. Plans include a sheltered stairway, reinstalled outdoor sculpture, new contemporary art commissions, a garden café and retail space.
- OLIN is expanding the landscaping.
- Doppelmayr is supplying the replacement tram and propulsion system, which Getty describes as more comfortable, with more capacity and shorter waits.
- WHY Architecture is renovating the Welcome Hall, with a bigger bookstore and a full-service café.
Getty says the new designs will fit within Richard Meier and Partners' original campus plan. The April announcement also promised cell service and Wi-Fi across the campus. Getty's releases do not give a budget. The Los Angeles Times reported an estimated $600 million to $800 million, with a focus on the tram, the Welcome Hall and the South Pavilion, for a museum that sees 1.3 million visitors a year. The Times later corrected an early version of that story, which had said the closure would start in March 2026. The correct start is 2027.
Getty CEO Katherine E. Fleming connected the reopening to the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Where the Getty Goes in the Meantime
Getty is not leaving Brentwood during the closure. It is opening a new program space in a building it is renovating on Sepulveda Boulevard, across from the Center. That space will host special programs during the closure and stay open as a program space after the Center reopens. The Times reported that it will host family festivals, lecture series and other arts programs.
Some of the paintings are moving, too. The Getty Villa will keep a full schedule of exhibitions and events during the closure. It will also add a gallery of paintings from the Center's collection, so some familiar works can be seen in a different setting for the year the hilltop is closed. Getty has said more details about the Sepulveda venue and the Villa will come later.
Until then, the Center is open six days a week, and admission is free with a reservation. The next exhibition deadline is Sunday, October 18.
If the Getty is part of how you host friends and family in Brentwood, Simon is glad to share his recommendations for a Saturday evening on the hill, and to help with anything else you need on the Westside. Simon Mashian offers concierge-level service in English, Farsi and Spanish. Let's Connect.
