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The architecture of the extraordinary Getty Center is said to outshine the art displayed within its galleries. Architect Richard Meier has created an elegant, sophisticated space that is nevertheless warmly welcoming.

This stunning Pasadena Craftsman bungalow marks the pinnacle of the career of Charles and Henry Greene. Built in 1908 as the retirement home of David and Mary Gamble of the Procter & Gamble family, the house has a beautiful garden, wide terraces, and open sleeping porches.

The private home and studio of Vienna-born architect Rudolf Schindler (1887–1953) is a modern architectural classic. Completed in 1922, the house’s flat roof, open floor plan, ample use of glass, and rooms opening to a courtyard, greatly influenced California architecture. Today, it houses the MAK Center for Arts and Architecture that hosts a year-round schedule of tours, exhibitions, lectures, and other interesting events.

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpieces, the 1921 Hollyhock House was the architect’s first LA commission. Anchoring Barnsdall Park, the avant-garde architecture of the house takes full advantage of the mild California climate. Wright created seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor space and made ample use of patios, porches, and rooftop terraces.

Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, set this unique glass chapel amid a grove of redwood trees on an isolated hilltop overlooking the Pacific on the Palos Verdes peninsula. Today, this fairytale structure is one of the most popular wedding venues in LA.

Reflecting architect Frank Gehry’s sculptural approach to architecture, this 1991 building was commissioned by the advertising firm Chiat/Day as its West Coast corporate headquarters. It has as its center a three-story tall pair of binoculars designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The pile of angled rust-colored columns on the right resembles a deconstructed forest.

This Frank Gehry-designed downtown extravaganza is easily recognized by its shiny and dynamically curved exterior. The new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, it opened in October 2003. The city-block-sized complex also comprises two small outdoor amphitheaters (see Walt Disney Concert Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall).

John Lautner’s bold, often experimental architectural style is perfectly exemplified in this unique private home in the Hollywood Hills. Resembling a flying saucer on a single concrete column, it was built in 1960, the same year President John F. Kennedy launched the challenge to put a man on the moon. The house was featured in Brian de Palma’s 1984 movie Body Double .

The light-flooded atrium of this 1893 office building, with its open-cage elevators, frilly iron work, and marble floors, is one LA’s supreme architectural landmarks. Architect George Wyman allegedly accepted the job only after consulting a Ouija board. Movie buffs might recognize it from Blade Runner and Chinatown .

Behind the fortresslike exterior of LA’s new cathedral, designed by José Rafael Moneo, awaits a minimalist hall of worship where the lack of right angles and supporting pillars creates a sense of spacious loftiness. You don’t have to be a Roman Catholic to appreciate the lovely tapestries of the nave, depicting dozens of saints.