Griffith Observatory

1896

A man gave the city 3,015 acres and left money for an observatory

On December 16, 1896, Griffith J. Griffith donated 3,015 acres of land to the City of Los Angeles. In his will he left funds to build an observatory, an exhibit hall and a planetarium on it. His aim was to make astronomy accessible to the public, rather than keep observatories on remote mountaintops for scientists.

1935

It opened in 1935 as the third planetarium in the country

Construction began on June 20, 1933, to a design by the architects John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley, based on sketches by Russell W. Porter. The observatory opened to the public on May 14, 1935, as the country's third planetarium. In its first five days it logged more than 13,000 visitors.

13,000visitors in the first five days, in May 1935

The telescope

The most viewed telescope in the world is a 12-inch Zeiss

Since the opening, over 9 million people have looked through its 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope, which makes it the most viewed telescope in the world. The first exhibit visitors met in 1935 was a Foucault pendulum, which was designed to show the rotation of the Earth.

Training

Pilots and then Apollo astronauts learned the sky under its dome

During World War II the planetarium was used to train pilots in celestial navigation. It was used for the same purpose again in the 1960s, to train the Apollo program astronauts for the first lunar missions.

2006

It closed in 2002 and reopened in 2006 with new rooms underground

The observatory closed on January 6, 2002, for a renovation and a major expansion of exhibit space. It reopened on November 2, 2006, keeping its Art Deco exterior. The building was expanded underground, with new exhibits and a new theater. One wall inside is covered by "The Big Picture", an astronomically accurate image of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, 152 feet long.