Budget-conscious art lovers who have taken advantage of free evening parking the Getty Center and the Getty Villa are now going to have to contend with the budget-conscious J. Paul Getty Trust. Both facilities will now charge $10 for parking after 5 p.m. at both facilities, effective November 21. more ›

A judge has refused to dismiss the Armenian Orthodox Church's lawsuit against the Getty. The church has been trying to recover pages ripped from a 755-year-old bible. Those pages include lavishly illustrated by Toros Roslin, one of the most important Armenian miniatures painter of the Middle Ages. more ›

Saturdays Off the 405 features outdoor music and views of the city atop the hill of the Getty Museum. This week's installment features performances by The Antlers and Dublab founder DJ Frosty. Enjoy libations, like the Gety-tins or other drinks, from the cash bar, and dine at the cafe, all of which are open until 8:30pm. You can also participate in the free Spotlight After Dark tours, a 20-minute exploration and discussion of art with a Getty Museum educator, which depart at 6pm and 7pm. more ›

Today from 4-7 p.m. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will host an “Afternoon Over Ice” to launch the Summer promotional beverages. Customers will receive their choice of a complimentary 12oz Iced Coffee, Iced Americano or Iced Tea at participating The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf retail locations (excludes Ralphs locations & San Diego County). No hogging--one freebie per customer! more ›

LA is home to some of the world's biggest, best, most well-known, and most important museums, as well as some lesser-known gems. The role of museums in providing an informal educational experience for children and adults alike is clear, but it often costs money to go to these museums. And even though the money almost always goes directly back into the museums' operations, if you love museums as much as we do, then you could make a pretty sizable dent in your bank account. more ›

As of 11:09 a.m. the Los Angles Fire Department is reporting approximately four separate grass fires near Getty Center Drive and the northbound 405 freeway. The cause is unknown and no injuries have been reported, thus far. Update: The fires were extinguished in 31 minutes. more ›

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Boyarsky discusses his book Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times tonight at 7 pm at Diesel, A Bookstore Brentwood. The book focuses on the Chandlers' reign over LA through the L.A. Times. It’s a tale of politics, family and fortune with the city of Angels as backdrop. more ›

The Getty Center museum will remain closed today after a fire that began yesterday afternoon consumed 80 acres in the area. Sepulveda Boulevard was still shut down this morning as well as two freeway off-ramps. 90% of of the blaze has been contained while fire crews work on various hotspots throughout the area. Only one firefighter sustained minor injuries to his foot and no structures have been damaged. As the fire continues, more updates will be posted at this link. more ›

A fire in the Sepulveda Pass began as a small brusher, only growing to around 10 acres at 3:30 p.m., according to the LA Fire Department. By 4:15 p.m., they said it was 80 acres. Still, no structures have been damaged and no injuries have been reported. As the day moves into late afternoon and nighttime, fire officials are concerned over sundowner winds that could flare up the fire into a larger one. 250 fire fighters are on the ground with four helicopters assisting. Both the Getty Center Museum and Mount St. Mary's College have been evacuated. As the fire continues, more updates will be posted at this link. more ›

The fire that began earlier this afternoon has prompted the Getty Center to close for the rest of the day. If should reopen tomorrow pending the status of the fire, which has grown to 10 acres and is slowly traveling northward, according to Erik Scott of the LA Fire Department. 250 firefighters are on the ground coordinated with air attacks. Mount St. Mary's College has also been evacuated. No structures or injuries have been reported. There are 130,000 residences in LA city limits within the "very high hazard severity zone" that must provide brush clearance year round, Scott noted, but many of them are cited in an annual May inspection. As we near the height of summer, he hopes this is a wake up call for those who live in such areas. As the fire continues, more updates will be posted at this link. more ›

An LAFD Alert reports that a brush fire of approximately 2 acres is burning in the heavy brush near 1200 Getty Center Dr, in the Sepulveda Pass. "L.A. City Fire Department says they will need to fight this fire from the air, as the area is inaccessible," according to abc7, who are also live streaming video-only (no audio) coverage of the fire. more ›

News of increased parking rates--yeah, $15--at The Getty Center and Villa effective July 1st did not go over so well with some people. So today, they announced that it will be free after 5 p.m. on Saturday nights when the Getty Center is open 'til 9 p.m. The Getty Villa is not open Saturdays, so it does not apply there. Of course, museum admission has always and will always be free so if you can get there car free, none of this matters. more ›

The Orphans West Symposium, a weekend film series dedicated to home movies, amateur and educational films, industrial and sponsored films, experimental films and newsreels, concludes today at the Silent Movie Theatre. The theme of the 2 pm screening is “On Location: Place and Region in Forgotten Films” and features “Space Explorations: Scott Stark,” “Building the Hollywoodland Sign” (1923) and Early Middle Eastern Films. The 4:30 pm screening is dedicated to “Science, Industry and Education” and features segments on “Sex Mis-Education: The Sex Ed Film in the Moving Image Archive” and “Science in Action (CAS 1952 - 66): Spectral Uses of Kinescopy.” Tickets for each show are $13. more ›

Los Angeles, meet the 761 Metro Rapid. The CNG-fueled bus takes you right to the front gates of the Getty from either Westwood or Sherman Oaks. Round trip? $2.50 or $5 if you're transferring from another bus. Why start taking the bus? Well, the Getty is raising the parking rate once again, this time to $15. "The Getty likes to call itself a museum accessible to the whole city, but it's starting to sound more like a Bel-Air hilltop institution," sniped Kevin Roderick at LA Observed. Nevertheless, the economy has got everyone in a crunch and this is the second time in a year that the fee has gone up. Museum admission will remain free and the parking fee increase also affects the Getty Villa location. more ›

The Getty has a nearly-three-decades-long reputation of being an unabashedly wealthy organization with lofty cultural ideals. Launched in 1982, the Trust was put in place to assure late tycoon J. Paul Getty's vision of bringing art to the people and spreading knowledge. Despite some growing pains (and what billionaire family doesn't have a little scandal now and then?) the Getty, predominantly associated with their two local museums, has remained a stalwart figure in the local and international art scene. But the Getty isn't impervious to the fickle fate of finances, and last December, the Trust revealed that their endowment monies had shrunk by 25%. more ›

"All plans are tentative; all courses of action provisional. The only certainty is that the J. Paul Getty Museum is very rich, indeed," wrote the LA Times in 1982. And so the journey to build the Getty Center in the Sepulveda Pass began. Today the Wall Street Journal explores the Getty's financial history, from the 50s until today where it is up against the recession just like everyone else. Says James N. Wood, the museum's director: "We are an institution that is entering young adulthood. It's been a hell of an adolescence: rich, painful and with fighting among siblings." more ›

Today is the first day you can see the floats for Thursday's parade. People will still be putting the final touches on them, but if you don't plan on attending or watching on TV, this your alternative. Some people find this more fun anyway. more ›

"Let me begin by stressing that the Gettys endowment is managed prudently, with careful oversight," wrote Getty Trust Chief Executive James N. Wood in a memo to staff that was obtained by the LA Times. "But the Getty has not been immune to the steep decline in financial markets which has affected so many of our peers even more seriously. Our endowment ended the 2008 fiscal year at $5.980 billion and, since that time, with financial markets deteriorating further, the value of the endowment has declined roughly 25%." more ›

"The Getty Center has experienced no damage to grounds, buildings, or the collection due to the brush fire that broke," Julie Jaskol of the Getty wrote in an e-mail this morning. "The Getty Center will remain closed today to visitors and most staff to ease traffic congestion in the area, but will reopen tomorrow at 10am for business as usual." The Getty Villa will remain open. more ›

For over seven hours, firefighters fought the 100-acre Sepulveda Pass Fire along the 405 Freeway. It started before 1:00 a.m. and resources were quickly, smartly and aggressively deployed to knockdown the fire after 8:00 a.m. as Los Angeles started its Thursday workday. Here's a little of what it look like early this morning: more ›

A sigh of relief for Los Angeles. "It took the combined efforts of more than 400 FF's just 7 hrs and 25 min to extinguish all visible flame," LA Fire Department Spokesperson Brian Humphrey announced at 8:23 a.m. The fire burned around 100 acres and there were no injuries and no structures damaged. Now the investigation for the cause is underway. Shortly before 5:00 a.m., officials were unsure what way the fire would go. Cautiously Humphrey said in an LAFD Alert that " the possibility of winds at dawn make this very much a wildfire." more ›

The near 45-acre brush fire raging between the Getty Museum and Mount St. Mary's College has prompted the California Highway Patrol to close the 405 Freeway in both directions between Skirball Center Drive in the Sepulveda Pass and Sunset Blvd., according to CHP officials and updates via an online log. 405 north and southbound traffic is being diverted to the 10 Freeway and Valley Vista Rd. in Sherman Oaks, respectively. more ›

*For an update, click here.* A brush fire, first reported at 12:51 a.m., ignited in the Sepulveda Pass near the Getty Museum. "It's a well protected facility," LA Fire Department Spokesperson Brian Humphrey said of the famous museum in the Brentwood neighborhood. With winds increasing shortly before 2:00 a.m., the fire was moving towards Mount St. Mary's College and homes on North Bundy Drive (map). Over 200 firefighters have been assigned from the city and various agencies to fight the fire. As of 2:15 a.m., no formal evacuations were called, but "those in the immediate area who can see flames should calmly prepare to leave well in advance of the flames," Humphrey suggested. UPDATE: As of 2:30 a.m., acreage consumed by the fire was estimated at 45 acres as winds began to diminish and an additional 100 firefighters, air resources in tow, arrived on scene. more ›

The Getty made an announcement yesterday that is disappointing some: hours are dropping back and parking fees are raising starting next Tuesday. This means tonight is the last Friday night you can enjoy the Getty until 9:00 p.m. as it will drop to its new time of 5:30 p.m. next week. Additionally, all other days except Saturdays, which will remain with its 9:00 p.m. closing time, will close a half hour earlier than usual at 5:30 p.m. more ›

Yesterday at four different locations around the Los Angeles area, teams built ice structures, a re-creation of performance and installation artist Allan Kaprow's "Fluids." Yesterday, Kaprow's son helped build one of the structures in Pasadena's Memorial Park. LAist Featured Photos contributor Tom Andrews was there to catch it. more ›

Since late March, performance art happenings have taken place all around Los Angeles. From students at USC dragging cement blocks in public right-of-ways to women licking jam off cars, the Allan Kaprow exhibit has extended beyond the gallery walls of the MOCA Geffen Contemporary gallery exhibit. Through the end of June, recreations from the pioneer of performance art will continue. And one of the larger scale pieces begins this weekend. more ›

GueriLA, the LA sister offshoot of Improv Everywhere, has done it again and they're growing. A couple weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, they hit the Getty Museum and did a simple exercise of follow the leader... with 200+ people. more ›

Update 7:00 p.m.: Sepulveda is still shut down and now crews expect to open it around 9 p.m. tonight. more ›

LAist's own TV Junkie has already given us the deets (and some alternatives), but in case you missed it, the 80th Annual Academy Awards are tonight, live from our very own Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Settle into your favorite spot in front of your tee vee and tune in along with zillions of other people around the world and see who wins what, who wears what, and if it rains on the red carpet. more ›