Brentwood is a wealthy district of LA, although not at the level of Beverly Hills or Bel-Air. Geographically, Brentwood occupies the base of the Santa Monica Mountains and is bounded by Wilshire Boulevard in the south, the 405 Freeway to the east, Topanga State Park to the west, Santa Monica to the southwest, and Mulholland drive in the north.[1]
Brentwood is perhaps best known for its famous resident, O.J. Simpson, whose Tudor mansion has since been razed. The Brentwood neighborhood features homes with interesting architecture, including the Lawson-Westen House with its gray façade and tilted windows, Schnabel House with its metal cubes connected to a Moorish dome, and the striking Sturges House at 449 Skyieway Road. The latter was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and looks like a giant wooden shingle cantilevered off a hillside and looming over the street below.[2]
Skirball Cultural Center
The Skirball Cultural Center at 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard is an exhibition aimed at illuminating the American Jewish experience, offering a broad overview of the history and culture of Judaism. The center has a diaspora of photographs of early immigrants and written mementos and letters from the early days.[3]
Getty Center
The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive just off the I-405 Freeway. Its cluster of low-lying buildings sits on a ridge that runs north to south above the freeway. The facilities are used for the study, conservations, and showcasing of visual art. The 110-acre campus was created to serve as the grounds for the organizations of the J. Paul Getty Trust, whose founder was one of the wealthiest businessmen of the 20th century.
As the only child of oil magnate George F. Getty, Jean Paul Getty had become a millionaire himself in Oklahoma’s oil fields in his early 20s. When his father died, he took over Pacific Western Oil and renamed it Getty Oil. He started collecting paintings in 1931. After WWII, Getty spent a lot of time in Europe developing his oil business and at the same time adding to his collection of art holdings and antiquities.[4]
Since 1954, Getty’s collection of treasures has been exhibited to the public, originally from his ranch home in Malibu and today at the Getty Center, which is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Under the direction of the J. Paul Getty Trust, Getty’s collection outgrew the Malibu space. In 1989, the construction of a newer museum was commissioned. The Getty Center, as it is called, was completed in 1997 and the collections were moved from the Malibu museum to the new complex. The Malibu house was renamed the “Getty Villa” and closed down for renovations.[5]
The new Getty Center was designed by American architect Richard Meier. The complex consists of six gleaming, melded buildings and includes several courtyards, fountains, gardens, and walkways. The facility enjoys stunning views of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and the Pacific Ocean. At the center of the complex is the Central Garden, an idea of artist Robert Irwin. The various branches including research and conservation organizations of the J. Paul Getty Trust occupy several of the campus buildings, while the J. Paul Getty Museum take up the remaining structures. The museum features a collection of European paintings from the 1600s to the present, an assortment of French decorative arts, illuminated photographs and manuscripts, and miscellaneous drawings and works on paper. Highlights of the collection include Van Gogh’s 1889 Irises and Rembrandt’s 1661 St. Bartholomew. The Getty Villa, on the other hand, houses Getty’s antiquities collection. This branch reopened only recently after renovations were completed in 2003.[6]
References:
“Brentwood, Los Angeles, California.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brentwood%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California>
Dickey, Jeff. Los Angeles, 3rd Edition. Rough Guides, 2003. ISBN: 1843530589.
Michelin Travel Publications. California. Greenville: Michelin Travel Publications, 2001. ISBN: 2060001315.
[1] Brentwood
[2] Dickey, 122
[3] Id.
[4] Id. at 166
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
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