When Time magazine and CBS News decided to hold a symposium on the 20th Century’s top artists and entertainers, they didn’t pick the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Century Plaza ballroom or a soundstage at the Warner Bros. lot.
They chose the Getty Center high atop the Santa Monica Mountains, with its fabled art collections, celebrated architecture and sweeping views of Los Angeles.
“It fulfills the desire that Los Angeles has always had for a ceremonial center that is really credible and not necessarily connected with show biz,” said Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes.
Those attributes have made the Getty, which opened last December, the most sought-after venue in Los Angeles.
“It’s the hottest ticket in town to have an event,” said Kathryn S. Schlossman, president of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission.
“It’s the No. 1 spot in L.A.,” agreed Annie Gilbar, editor of Live magazine. “It represents everything that is wonderful about the city. It is intelligent and it is state of the art.”
But not everybody can toss an event on the hilltop. The Getty Center has some of the strictest rules for groups wanting to use the 110-acre site.
First and foremost, according to Getty officials, events must have some kind of cultural connection.
Thus, don’t expect to see a company annual meeting or a product launch. Hollywood, too, can forget about shooting films, commercials or TV shows at the center.
Culture is considered the mission of the Getty something that might have amused oilman J. Paul Getty, whose millions helped create the center.
“They are extremely selective with whom they dance,” said Robert Barrett, who is in charge of cultural tourism at the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s not a venue that any business can rent or negotiate to use.”
In fact, dozens of businesses seeking permission to use the Getty have been turned away, said Lori Starr, public affairs director for the J. Paul Getty Trust.
Once inside, the Getty controls every element of an event, including approval of all printed material and a limit of 600 guests. Even when a group is granted permission, it cannot return for five years.
Despite such restrictions, Getty President and Chief Executive Barry Munitz said one of his primary goals is to make the Getty more than a static museum.
“We are trying to be more involved with the public policy aspect of the humanities,” Munitz said. “You have here, in effect, a university, a museum and a philanthropic foundation and it has all caught on. And it has the best view you can have of L.A., other than in a helicopter.”
Sounds perfect for a convention, a meeting or a cocktail party. But the Getty’s priority is for its own internal events, like lectures on films, artists and composers. Only then will the Center consider a request from an outside group.
Among the groups that have held events to date were ArtTable Inc., a national organization for professional women in the visual arts, and the American Assembly, whose members represents the nation’s largest foundations. This week, the American Association of Museums meets at the Center.
So how did Time magazine and CBS News, once run by legendary businessmen Henry Luce and William S. Paley, get onto the grounds? The subject matter, the 20th Century’s top artists and entertainers, fit into the Getty’s guidelines.
Even so, Time managing editor Walter Isaacson joked that he wanted his event at the Getty because he had never seen it.
“It was a chance to get in free and no waiting,” Isaacson said.
One upcoming event may puzzle brooding capitalists who can’t gain entry: the annual gala for the L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau that will be populated by politicians and business executives.
The twist here is that group will be honoring the Getty’s president emeritus, Harold M. Williams.
“We partner with them to bring tourism to the city,” said Starr. “We make exceptions for events we feel to be highly important to the city and the Getty mission.”
Mark Olson, president of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and vice president of the 16-member West Side Council of Chambers, said he and his colleagues tried to get involved with the Getty early on, but were rebuffed.
“They didn’t feel that business was a top priority,” he said. “It is a great attraction, it brings people to the Westside and it’s a cultural achievement, but it can be more by reaching out to the business community and the surrounding communities.”
Regina Birdsell, executive director of the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership, said she was initially concerned by what appeared to be an anti-business attitude. But although the Getty is closed to commercial events, business leaders are nevertheless visiting it in connection with cultural functions and are impressed with what they see.
“They have been dazzled,” she said. “Business leaders are getting the exposure to L.A. in a new way.”
Birdsell, however, said her group was unable to hold a meeting there because the facility was booked.
“It’s not a problem for us,” she said. “We have so many other places in Los Angeles to meet. But we have all come to appreciate what the Getty has done for Los Angeles. It ends that New York snobbery that culture can only be in the east.”
