Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

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MCASD
MCASD Visit Edwin 3
Photo by SWISH PROJECTS
Photo by SWISH PROJECTS

We are excited to welcome you back to MCASD’s Flagship location in La Jolla. Explore the newly expanded collection galleries, our special exhibitions, sculpture garden, The Shop, and more.

We’re open today from 10 AM—4 PM
700 Prospect St, La Jolla, CA 92037
858-454-3541

Purchase tickets

Hours

Thursday—Sunday, 10AM—4PM
Monday—Wednesday, Closed

All second Sundays and third Thursdays of the month offer free admission, with third Thursdays open for extended hours through 8PM.

Admission

$25
Adults
$20
San Diego County and Tijuana Residents
$15
Students and Seniors
Free
Members
Not a member? Join Now!
Free
Military
and their families with ID. Free admission for the Blue Star Museum program at MCASD is generously supported by The Rosso Family Foundation.
Free
People 17 and Under
Generously provided by Qualcomm Foundation
Free
SNAP/EBT Card Holder
with card

All guests participating in reciprocal admission programs (NARM, ROAM, Mod/Co) can redeem their admission directly at the front desk.

Blue Star Families: FREE Armed Forces Day to Labor Day.

Recipients of federal disability assistance (SSDI, SSI, VA benefits, etc): FREE plus one personal care attendant per visitor.

We are proud to be part of Bank of America’s 2024 Museums on Us Program, which offers BoA cardholders free general admission to the Museum during the first full weekend of every month.

Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and all other holidays that fall on Monday - Wednesday.

MCASD La Jolla is free on the Second Sunday and the Third Thursday of every month. Please check our events tab for discounts at MCASD Downtown.

Getting Here

Getting to MCASD at 700 Prospect St, La Jolla, CA 92037

— Exit at La Jolla Village Drive
— Turn right at the end of the ramp onto La Jolla Village Drive
— Turn left at the third traffic signal onto Torrey Pines Road
— Travel approximately 4 miles down a long hill and then back up
— Turn right at the traffic signal on top of the rise of the road onto Prospect Street

MCASD is located approximately one mile down Prospect Street on the right-hand side. Free two-hour street parking is available in front of the Museum and on nearby cross streets.

— Exit at La Jolla Parkway
— Exit ramps are very long and merge directly into Torrey Pines Road
— Travel approximately 4 miles down a long hill and then back up
— Turn right at the traffic signal on top of the rise of the road onto Prospect Street

MCASD is located approximately one mile down Prospect Street on the right-hand side. Free two-hour street parking is available in front of the Museum and on nearby cross streets.

MTS Bus Line #30 services the La Jolla Village area.
— On Saturdays and Sundays, two children 12 and under ride free on MTS buses and trolleys with a regular adult fare.
— All San Diego Metropolitan Transit System trolleys and buses are wheelchair accessible.

A bike rack can be found to the left of our main entrance.

Dining at MCASD

dine in - take out - order ahead - events

Wednesday–Friday
breakfast + lunch | 9:30AM – 2:30PM
coffee counter until 4pm

Saturday–Sunday
breakfast + lunch | 9 AM – 2:30PM
coffee counter until 4pm

from the culinary team behind southern california's urban kitchen group.

The Kitchen at MCASD is the latest addition to restaurateur Tracy Borkum and Executive Chef Tim Kolanko’s CUCINA family of restaurants. Borkum is known for presenting exceptional food and superior service in imaginatively designed environments, including CUCINA urbana, CUCINA enoteca Del Mar, Newport Beach and Irvine, ARTIFACT at Mingei, Gold Finch modern delicatessen, Morena Provisions, Urban Kitchen food pavilion at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and Urban Kitchen Catering.

The Kitchen @mcasd menu is crafted by Tim Kolanko, Chef Partner, Urban Kitchen Group. The Kitchen draws inspiration from the regions southern europe, northern africa, and the middle east - including italy, greece, spain, turkey, israel and morocco.

See the menu
PH: 858-454-3541 x507

Visitor Guidelines

Our entrances and most restrooms are wheelchair accessible with a limited number of wheelchairs available at Front Desk.

No food or drink in the galleries.

Smoking and e-cigarettes are not permitted anywhere on the grounds.

Sketching is permitted in the galleries (pencil only, no ink or paint) with sketchbooks no larger than eight and a half by eleven inches (twenty-one and a half by twenty-eight centimeters). Easels, stools, and sitting on the floor is not permitted.

We encourage all visitors to engage with the artwork in a safe and respectful manner. Please do not touch works of art on display and be mindful of safety barriers in place for certain artworks.

Visitors may use mobile devices to take still photographs, but video, panorama, and other digital documentation may be restricted in some galleries.

Disruptive cell phone conversations are also discouraged.

Photography is permitted in the Museum galleries unless otherwise noted. Videotaping and tripods are prohibited.

Valet parking is available for all visitors. When planning your visit, you can reserve valet parking. Pricing is $10 for Members and $15 for Non-member visitors (Museum Membership or ticket purchase will be verified on arrival).

The parking garage entrance is around the corner from the main museum entrance, on Cuvier St, just before Coast Blvd. Guests will then exit the parking garage, walk up Cuvier St toward Prospect St and enter through the front doors of MCASD. Guests requiring ADA access will be escorted through an alternate pathway into the Museum lobby.

Alternatively, free two-hour street parking is available in front of the Museum and on nearby cross streets.

Frequently Asked Question

MCASD is committed to welcoming a wide and diverse audience, including those assisted by trained service animals. MCASD complies with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), which defines service animals as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability. MCASD allows service dogs in all public areas of the museum. MCASD does not allow Emotional Support Animals (ESA) inside the museum. Emotional Support Animals, Comfort Animals, or Therapy Animals which provide comfort do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. The following questions may be asked of each visitor with a service dog: Is the service dog required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? If the dog is out of control or not housebroken, the handler will be asked to remove the dog from the museum.

We’re sorry—food and beverages aren’t allowed inside the museum. Please leave food and beverage items in the car or at home or dispose of them in a trash can outside of the museum.

We do not have a coat/bag check, but we do have a limited number of free self-service lockers for your use at our La Jolla location. Please pack lightly as the lockers are not large.  In the galleries, we welcome bags smaller than 8x10x4. Backpacks may be check in the lockers and are not to go in the galleries.

Benches are located throughout the museum.

Wheelchairs will be available at the front desk on a first-come, first-served basis. Wheelchairs will be cleaned and sanitized after each use.

All sales are final, and ticket purchases are non-refundable. While we do not offer refunds on tickets, we can reschedule your ticket(s) for another date. Please email info@mcasd.org with the name on the order and the preferred date. Please remember that tickets can only be scheduled/rescheduled from Thursday to Sunday.

MCASD is committed to creating an inclusive environment and accommodating our audience's diverse needs. If you require any special assistance while visiting MCASD, please contact us at 858 454 3541 or email info@mcasd.org to make arrangements.

Explore Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego with our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Our guide takes you behind the scenes at MCASD with exclusive multimedia perspectives from artists, curators, and more. Use the app to plan your visit, then easily access helpful insights on-site. Afterward, dive deeper into your favorite works at home–or anywhere, anytime!

From the culinary team behind southern california's urban kitchen group, The Kitchen at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is the latest addition to restaurateur Tracy Borkum and Executive Chef Tim Kolanko’s CUCINA family of restaurants.

The Shop at MCASD strives to be an original voice in the La Jolla, CA retail landscape, supporting the Museum’s commitment to celebrate the vitality of contemporary art and its power to enrich our everyday life. Members receive a 10% discount.

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