ART OF MOCA PARKING

Perhaps the easiest way to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art during the week is to head for the Music Center.

Well, make that one of the least expensive ways, since parking beneath the museum itself can cost as much as $12.50 Monday through Friday, if you stay all day.

The Music Center charges only $4 for a day, if you arrive after 11 a.m. To get to the museum from the Music Center’s underground garage, walk one long block south on Grand Avenue. There’s also an outdoor lot next to the Music Center on the southwest corner of 1st and Grand that’s open to the public every day but Thursday and also costs $4 a day, entering after 11 a.m. Look for a sign with a big blue “5” to locate the right lot.

If you prefer proximity, the California Plaza complex, in which the museum is situated, offers parking directly below. Rates are $12.50 a day maximum Monday through Friday before 5 p.m. and $4 maximum after 5 p.m. during the week and on Saturday and Sunday.

From Dec. 8-31 only, the California Plaza will offer discounted parking fees. Museum patrons entering before 5 p.m. on weekdays may park for up to three hours for $2.50 with a museum validation. Those parking beyond three hours will be charged the normal rate. During this special period, those parking after 5 p.m. on weekdays or on weekends will get the same discounted three-hour rate, but if you park longer than three hours, fees will not exceed $4.

There’s also limited street parking along Grand Avenue, some free, some metered, from near the Music Center to about Third Street. And, there’s the RTD and the downtown Dash shuttle bus that makes a stop at 1st and Grand. Another alternative is to park across Grand Avenue from the front of the MOCA in the Crocker Center parking garage, which has both Grand and Hope Street entrances. This can cost $15 a day maximum, however.

MOCA is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; and closed Monday and Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Admission is $4 for visitors aged 12-64; $2 for students and senior citizens 65 and over; and free for museum members, children under 12, and pre-scheduled, accredited school groups. Admission is free for everyone on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. Tickets entitle holders to enter both the new museum at 250 S. Grand Avenue and the Temporary Contemporary Museum at 152 N. Central Ave. on the day of ticket purchase only.

The museum is wheelchair accessible. Information: (213) 62M-OCA2.