What is Griffith Observatory?

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Griffith Observatory is one of southern California's most popular tourist  attractions. It is a non-profit space observatory whose purpose is to provide the public with information on astronomy and related sciences.  It is 1,134 feet above sea level and is visible from many parts of the Los Angeles basin. It is a non-profit space observatory whose purpose is to provide the public with information on astronomy and related sciences. Griffith Park is the USA's largest municipal park and provides extensive access for persons with disabilities. All levels of the building and grounds are accessible to all visitors. Each level has an elevator access, and some are also accessible by ramp. There are two  theaters, Samuel Oschin Planetarium and Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon.

What is the history behind Griffith Observatory?

Griffith J. Griffith had discovered the great public parks of Europe and decided that his home, Los Angeles, would need a "Great Park" for the public in order to become a great city. On December 16, 1896, he donated 3,015 acres of Rancho Los Feliz to the City of Los Angeles in order to create a public park in his name. Griffith's experience on Mount Wilson focused his desire to make science more accessible to the public. On December 12, 1912, he offered the City of Los Angeles $100,000 for an observatory to be built on the top of Mount Hollywood to be fully owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles.

The City Council accepted Griffith's gift and appointed him head of a three-person Trust committee to supervise the construction of the observatory and a  theater  for performing arts facility. Griffith realized that his vision of a public observatory would not be realized in his lifetime. He drafted a will containing bequests for the observatory and a theater, along with detailed specifications regarding the nature of the observatory, its location, and programmatic offerings. Griffith died on July 6, 1919. The dedication and formal opening of Griffith Observatory took place amid much fanfare on May 14, 1935. On that day, the Griffith Trust transferred ownership of the building to the City of Los Angeles; the City's Department of Recreation and Parks.

Observatory facilities may occasionally be made available for rental usage for events or commercial filming by outside organizations. Use of space at the Observatory requires a clear linkage to the Observatory's mission of public astronomy and science. The Observatory is open to the public six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. 

The observatory is not big, but has a lot of interesting and fun stuff to see, for both young and old. You can see the city of Los Angeles from the top of Mount Hollywood. The exhibition takes about 3 hours .  You can also catch one of the 360 shows with live presentations, then walk outside  for a spectacular night panorama of Los Angeles.

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