[Return to Larry's Home Page]

Griffith Observatory

The Park

Griffith Observatory is located on Mt. Hollywood, overlooking Los Angeles. The Observatory is scheduled to undergo renovations starting in January 2002 and will not reopen until late in 2004. This will be the Observatory's first major renovation since it was constructed in 1935. The Observatory consists has a 12 inch telescope located in the east dome. The Center dome houses the planetarium and the west dome houses a solar telescope. The Observatory also has a number of exhibits including a 40 ft. pendulum which shows the earth's motion. The day that Sally and I went to the Observatory was a very warm September day. The sky was cloudless, but a layer of haze marred the view somewhat. The Observatory is a major L.A. landmark and the day that we were there were many visitors at the park and I think I heard at least a dozen different languages being spoken.

 

Hollywood

From the lawn of the Observatory there is a very good view of the Hollywood sign. The Observatory and surrounding area have been the site for hundreds of movies and tv shows and commercials. The most famous movie filmed at the Observatory was Rebel Without A Cause staring James Dean

 

 

The Observatory

The inside of the Observatory has a number of exhibits. In the east wing is a scale model of the Hubble space telescope along with a number of photographs taken by the Hubble. A seismograph shows earthquake activity. The center portion of the Observatory contains a large pendulum as well as the planetarium. Sally and I caught the planetarium show which was good. The planetarium is quite old and the renovations will replace everything in the planetarium including the incredible uncomfortable seats. The west part of the Observatory als contains a number of exhibits including a large Tesla coil and a solar telescope. You can climb up to the roof of the Observatory and look out over the city. The roof also provides access to the 12 inch telescope which is open to the public, although Sally and I didn't stay late enough to look through it.