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The Getty Museum Showcases LA’s Mid-Century Architectural Innovation

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Do we need anything more than the gorgeous J. Paul Getty Museum itself to illustrate the fact that Los Angeles is a a critical center for architecture? We didn’t, but for the skeptics, the museum is showcasing extra proof of it. Through mid-July, Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future will be on exhibition at the Getty Center Exhibitions Pavillion.

The title emphasizes the incredible pace at which Los Angeles grew between 1940 and 1990, and the exhibition highlights the diverse and cutting-edge architectural innovations that kept pace with that growth. Through drawings, photographs, models, and other media, Overdrive

explores the innovation across five categories: Car Culture, Urban Networks, Engines of Innovation, Community Magnets, and Residential Fabric. And the architecture examined ranges from freeways to refined residentials, and from artistic coffee shops to corporate towers.  Though the Never Built Los Angeles exhibit (to which the Getty also contributed) claims that 

what might have been LA’s most cutting-edge architecture never actually came to fruition, you’ll have to compare and judge what the most cutting-edge projects were for yourself.

The exhibition is only on display until July 21st, but if you miss it, you can always drive around L.A., take in the view, and appreciate the fact that wherever you go in the city, you’re surrounded by architecture that still isn’t afraid to innovate. 
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