La Jolla · Contemporary art museum
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego sits on Prospect Street with the Pacific behind it. The building is half the reason to go. Its galleries open onto ocean views, and no other contemporary art museum in the country can say that, which is why an hour here feels different from an hour anywhere else.
I wasn’t expecting to feel so relaxed after a museum visit. Serenity is enhanced by the fact that the museum is never intensely crowded and because blue skies and ocean are visible through its windows.
Admission: $25, free for everyone 25 and under · Open: Thursday to Sunday · Closed: Monday to Wednesday · Time needed: 45 to 90 minutes · Parking: Free two-hour street
Tickets, Prices and Free Days
General admission is $25, but that headline overstates what most people actually pay here, because the free tiers are unusually generous.
- Free for everyone 25 and under. This is age-based, not student-based, so there is no ID logic to work out.
- Free for military, SNAP and EBT cardholders, visitors with disabilities and a personal care attendant, and members.
- $20 for San Diego County and Tijuana residents.
- $15 for students, educators and anyone 55 and over.
- Free for everyone on the second Sunday and the third Thursday of every month. Bank of America cardholders also get in free on the first full weekend of the month.
Note the second Sunday if you have children. That is Play Day, when the museum runs free family programming and tours built for mixed ages. The rest of the month leans towards teenagers and adults, which is what the free-under-25 policy is really for.
MCASD is also included on Go City San Diego . It also joins San Diego Museum Month every February, when the free pass halves admission for up to four people. Two passes it is not on: San Diego CityPASS, and the Balboa Park Explorer Pass, which covers Balboa Park venues only.
When to Go, and the Three Days It Is Closed
MCASD is closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Three days is unusual for a museum. Nothing else about this place catches out more visitors, so check the day before you build an afternoon around it.
When it is open, Thursday through Saturday run 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday closes at 5 p.m. That late Thursday and Friday close is the useful part. You can spend the afternoon at La Jolla Shores, rinse off, and still get an hour in the galleries with the light coming off the water.
You Can Unplug
The thing about contemporary art is that there are many layers to each piece, as one of the museum’s gallery educators pointed out to me. I’m no neurologist but pausing to interpret the art felt akin to unplugging because, all of a sudden, my thoughts about the art temporarily pushed all of the other life stuff away. I wasn’t thinking about work, chores or parenting. Knowing there are no right or wrong answers really helps.
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” That is Picasso, and after an hour here I take his point.
What You’ll See
The permanent collection runs to more than 5,700 works made since 1950. Its strengths are Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Pop and west-coast Light and Space, alongside a holding of border and Latin American art that no other American museum comes close to.
Most La Jollans miss the Ed Ruscha connection. He made Brave Men of La Jolla, the outdoor ship mural visible from Coast Boulevard. MCASD holds about 30 pieces of his work after a long relationship with the artist, and the museum itself was founded by artists in 1941 as the La Jolla Art Center. That local thread runs a long way back.
Alongside the collection, three or four temporary exhibitions rotate through the building at any time, and the museum holds a free public opening for each new one. Because they change every few months, check what is on before you go rather than trusting any list, including this one.
The Edwards Sculpture Garden
Take a therapeutic walk around the Edwards Sculpture Garden, an outdoor space full of larger-than-life sculptures, murals and more scattered throughout the museum’s exterior. I challenge you to take 20 minutes and sit somewhere amid the ocean breezes and Pacific Ocean backdrop to just breathe.
It sits on the footprint of the original 1930s coastal garden, planted with specimen cactus and palms. The parts outside the ticketed galleries are free to walk through. Ask at the desk for the sculpture garden guide if you have small children with you. It covers the pieces one by one and is written for families, though I have found it just as useful on my own.
Lunch at The Kitchen @ MCASD
Lunch under filtered sunlight on the outdoor patio at The Kitchen @ MCASD is fun in the company of friends or simply a book. I’ve always loved the salads here, and the last one I had, a Fuyu persimmon and local ruby beet salad topped with their poached chicken, did not disappoint. I’m not alone in my sentiments, as I always seem to run into someone I know every single time I dine there.
Two things make it useful beyond the museum visit. It is run by Urban Kitchen Group and serves Mediterranean-leaning breakfast, brunch and lunch from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., which means it opens two hours before the galleries do. And it is open on Wednesday, when the museum is closed, so you can eat on the patio on a day you could not see the art.
Getting There and Parking
The museum is at 700 Prospect Street, walking distance from most La Jolla hotels and from the village restaurants.
Free two-hour street parking runs in front of the museum and on the cross streets around it, and that is the option most people should try first. Two hours covers a visit comfortably but gets tight once you add lunch, and Prospect Street is competitive at weekends. If you would rather not circle, there is valet at $10 for members and $15 for everyone else, with the entrance on Cuvier Street near Coast Boulevard.
What Happened to MCASD Downtown
MCASD used to run a second building downtown at 1100 Kettner Boulevard, in the old Santa Fe Depot baggage building. That location is gone. San Diego City Council approved its transfer to UC San Diego in November 2024, and the university plans an arts centre there. The leased space at 1001 Kettner was given up as well.
So MCASD is a single-site museum now, in La Jolla. Anything telling you to visit both branches is out of date, which is worth knowing before you drive downtown looking for one.
MCASD La Jolla FAQs
How much does MCASD La Jolla cost?
General admission is $25. It is free for anyone 25 and under, for military, for SNAP and EBT cardholders and for visitors with disabilities. San Diego County and Tijuana residents pay $20, and students, educators and visitors 55 and over pay $15.
When is MCASD free?
Twice a month, on the second Sunday and the third Thursday. Bank of America cardholders get the first full weekend as well. And anyone 25 or under is free every single day the museum opens, which is the part most people miss.
What days is MCASD La Jolla closed?
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It opens Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It also closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and several federal holidays.
Where do you park at MCASD?
Try the street first. Free two-hour parking runs in front of the museum and along the cross streets around it, and that is the option most visitors should use. Valet is $10 for members and $15 for everyone else, entrance on Cuvier Street near Coast Boulevard.
How long do you need at MCASD La Jolla?
Between 45 and 90 minutes for most people. This is one building, not a campus, so the galleries alone will not fill a half day. Add the sculpture garden and lunch on the patio and they easily will.
Is MCASD good for kids?
It is pitched mainly at teenagers and adults, and the free-under-25 policy reflects that. Families are best served on the second Sunday of the month, which is Play Day, when the museum runs free family programming and multigenerational tours. The sculpture garden works well with children at any time.
If you are one of the La Jollans who hasn’t been in a while, it is worth going back. It is nice to find respite near home every once in a while.
See also: Museums and Galleries in La Jolla
