Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory has been the leader of public astronomy in southern California
and around the world since it opened in 1935. More people have looked through
Griffith Observatory’s telescope than any other telescope on Earth. In addition, its
iconic façade has been featured in more than 300 films and television shows. The
Observatory is a Los Angeles landmark and worldwide tourist destination for over a
million visitors a year.Its mission, “Griffith Observatory inspires everyone to
observe, ponder, and understand the sky,” is realized each day in the exhibit halls
and the Samuel Oschin Planetarium and each night as visitors gaze at the cosmos
with their own eyes through the historical 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope or its
lawn telescopes.
The history of the Griffith Observatory begins with Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, who
donated 3,015 acres of land from the area surrounding the observatory to the city
of Los Angeles in December 1896.
The public areas, exhibits and telescopes of the observatory are open to the
general public free of charge every day it is in operation. The observatory also
offers programs, special events and "public holidays" to see rains of stars and
other natural phenomena. Visitors can arrive by car directly to the observatory and
park without cost in the parking lot or on any of the roads nearby.

The observatory closed in 2002 for renovation and a major expansion of exhibit
space. It reopened to the public on November 3, 2006, retaining its art deco
exterior. The $93 million renovation, paid largely by a public bond issue, restored
the building, as well as replaced the aging planetarium dome. The building was
expanded underground, with completely new exhibits,[6] a café, gift shop, and the
new Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater.[7]