Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, California)
USA /
California /
West Hollywood /
Los Angeles, California /
East Observatory Road, 2800
World
/ USA
/ California
/ West Hollywood
World / United States / California
observatory, landmark, planetarium, movie / film / TV location, scientific research institute / centre, historic landmark
2800 East Observatory Road
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 664-1181
www.griffithobs.org/
Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands an incredible view of downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The observatory is a favorite attraction for tourists and locals alike, and features an extensive array of space- and science-related displays.
After being closed almost five years and undergoing $93 million of reconstruction, new attractions (including an expansive lower level of exhibition space carved underneath the original building) may get much of the attention, but this reconstruction is most remarkable not for what has changed, but for what has stayed the same, and that is a radical approach in the world of science exhibitions.
When first opened, 14 May 1935, the Griffith Observatory was only the third major planetarium in the United States. (Chicago and Philadelphia came first. The Hayden Planetarium in New York followed a few months later, all of them using Zeiss equipment.) Built with funds bequeathed to the city by the wealthy Welsh immigrant Griffith J. Griffith (1850-1919) and designed by John Austin and F.M. Ashley, the observatory was, and still is, operated by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks as a public institution with free admission.
The Griffith has no affiliation with a university or research institution.
During reconstruction (the architects were Pfeiffer Partners) the building itself was raised by hydraulic lifts so the mountain beneath could be excavated, creating new exhibition areas and a 200-seat hall for shows and lectures, expanding 27,000 square feet of internal space into 67,000.
The entire first floor has a quaint clarity. No display tries too much; all will be supplemented by guides offering assistance and information. The most dramatic exhibit is a relic of the original Griffith but bears little relation to the heavens: a Tesla coil housed in a metal cage, whose lightninglike sparks may provide the Griffith’s only spectacle aside from the stars. But all the exhibits remain deliberately human centered; they encourage observation and are about observation.
The new lower level, evoking the expanse of the universe in its cavernous space, is less coherent, but the observer remains central. Traditional panels describe the planets, which are arrayed in proportional size. An interactive computer screen highlights other planetary systems.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 664-1181
www.griffithobs.org/
Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands an incredible view of downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The observatory is a favorite attraction for tourists and locals alike, and features an extensive array of space- and science-related displays.
After being closed almost five years and undergoing $93 million of reconstruction, new attractions (including an expansive lower level of exhibition space carved underneath the original building) may get much of the attention, but this reconstruction is most remarkable not for what has changed, but for what has stayed the same, and that is a radical approach in the world of science exhibitions.
When first opened, 14 May 1935, the Griffith Observatory was only the third major planetarium in the United States. (Chicago and Philadelphia came first. The Hayden Planetarium in New York followed a few months later, all of them using Zeiss equipment.) Built with funds bequeathed to the city by the wealthy Welsh immigrant Griffith J. Griffith (1850-1919) and designed by John Austin and F.M. Ashley, the observatory was, and still is, operated by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks as a public institution with free admission.
The Griffith has no affiliation with a university or research institution.
During reconstruction (the architects were Pfeiffer Partners) the building itself was raised by hydraulic lifts so the mountain beneath could be excavated, creating new exhibition areas and a 200-seat hall for shows and lectures, expanding 27,000 square feet of internal space into 67,000.
The entire first floor has a quaint clarity. No display tries too much; all will be supplemented by guides offering assistance and information. The most dramatic exhibit is a relic of the original Griffith but bears little relation to the heavens: a Tesla coil housed in a metal cage, whose lightninglike sparks may provide the Griffith’s only spectacle aside from the stars. But all the exhibits remain deliberately human centered; they encourage observation and are about observation.
The new lower level, evoking the expanse of the universe in its cavernous space, is less coherent, but the observer remains central. Traditional panels describe the planets, which are arrayed in proportional size. An interactive computer screen highlights other planetary systems.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffith_Observatory
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 34°7'6"N 118°18'1"W
- Mount Palomar Observatory 157 km
- Clark Lake Radio Observatory 205 km
- Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) 347 km
- Anderson Mesa Station 629 km
- Kitt Peak National Observatory 667 km
- Kitt Peak National Observatory 669 km
- LIGO Hanford Observatory 1380 km
- McDonald Observatory 1393 km
- Dominion Astrophysical Observatory 1659 km
- LIGO Livingston Observatory 2607 km
- 2600 Wild Oak Drive 0.9 km
- Los Feliz Estates 0.9 km
- FERNDELL, Griffith Park 1.1 km
- Laughlin Park 1.3 km
- American Film Institute 1.5 km
- Griffith Park 1.5 km
- Camp Hollywoodland 1.5 km
- Los Feliz 1.6 km
- Hollywood Dell 2.7 km
- Hollywood 2.7 km
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