T Minus Five Months

Thirteen years after the J. Paul Getty Trust issued its first press releases about building a fine arts center on a hilltop in Brentwood--and nearly a decade later than the early, extremely optimistic projections of completion--the Getty Center is about to become a reality. In just over five months, on Dec. 16, the center will open to the public after a celebratory invitational weekend.

The $1-billion complex designed by architect Richard Meier will unite all the Getty’s far-flung programs on a 110-acre site that also provides spectacular views of the city and coast. The six-building complex, approached by a tram from an underground parking structure, will house a new museum; institutes for art education, conservation, research and information; a grant program; trust offices; an auditorium; and a restaurant. Extensive landscaping around the buildings includes a wide variety of formal and informal gardens.

The museum--the primary public facility in the new cultural complex--is composed of five two-story pavilions. They surround a central courtyard that features shaded gardens, fountains and reflecting pools.

The Getty’s staff and collections of art and research materials have been moving into the Brentwood facility during the past year, and many employees are already working there. But much remains to be done before the public opening.

Following are highlights:

July: Research Institute moves to Brentwood and shelves its collection of 750,000 books on the history of art, architecture, ethnography and science, plus 2 million photographs and special collections of sketchbooks, archives and artists’ correspondence.

Mid-July: Museum educators and docents shift their programs from the museum in Malibu to Brentwood, focusing on community orientation and outreach during visits to schools and neighborhood centers.

July to September: Staff of Research Institute and Information Institute move into offices.

July to November: Work continues on Robert Irwin’s three-acre artwork “Central Garden,” including completion of reflecting pool and stream; installation of bridges, walkways and irrigation system; and final planting of more than 500 varieties of flowers, shrubs and trees.

July to December: Indoor and outdoor locations selected for site-specific installations to be commissioned from contemporary artists.

August: Beginning of public service announcements and advertising to inform the public about the center’s opening and parking-reservations system. Information packets about visiting the center and using its resources distributed to local schools, neighborhood groups and community associations.

Sept. 1: Lower floors of Research Institute completed.

Sept. 8: First day to make parking reservations for commercial tour operators, nonprofit organizations and community groups: (310) 440-7300.

Sept. 28: First day to make general parking reservations for visits after the Dec. 16 opening: (310) 440-7300. The system is expected to be discontinued in a year or so, after the initial rush has subsided.

Late September: Top two office floors of Research Institute ready for occupancy, completing the move of Getty Trust programs from temporary offices in Santa Monica.

October: Work completed on roads and walls of entrance to the site.

October to November: Education staff makes final preparations for Art Information Centers, containing interactive multimedia programs, samples of art materials, demonstrations of artists’ techniques and timelines that place artworks in historical, political and social context. Docents train to help visitors use the Art Information Centers and a Family Room equipped with art-related activities for children and their parents.

November: Museum staff fine-tunes installations of collections and educational materials in galleries, including labels, text panels and audio guides.

Nov. 14: “Wave Your Banner! Exploring Community Through Art,” an outdoor display of banners created by elementary school children from each of the 50 states, goes on view. In conjunction with the show, the Getty Education Institute hosts a three-day “Kids Congress on Art” for students and their parents and teachers.

Late November: Museum bookstore stocked with books, posters and educational items, including 34 new Getty publications on the new cultural complex and the museum’s art collections.

Early December: The four inaugural exhibitions are installed: “Beyond Beauty: Antiquities as Evidence” and “Making Architecture: The Getty Center From Concept Through Construction” in the museum’s temporary exhibitions galleries; “Irresistible Decay: Ruins Reclaimed” and “Incendiary Art: The Representation of Fireworks in Early Modern Europe” at the Getty Research Institute.

Dec. 13: Invitational inaugural celebration, to be attended by an international array of governmental and cultural dignitaries, art world leaders and representatives of educational and community organizations.

Dec. 14: First in a series of Family Days, presented as an invitational preview of the center’s programs.

Dec. 16: The Getty Center opens to the public: Tuesdays to Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Open in the mornings, 9 to 11, for group tours.

Fall 1998: School tours begin.