The Griffith Observatory

I was lucky enough to be able to visit the observatory in 2019 when I was visiting LA, after much coercion I managed to get my parents to drive up the hill through the national park to the observatory. It sits on the south slope of mount Hollywood and looks out over the city.

It was originally build by a Welsh immigrant Griffith J. Griffith who wanted to build a public observatory to share the wonder of the stars. The site has been showing the public the stars since 1935, sadly this was after Griffith's death in 1919 but he left money to build the observatory in his will. Similarly, there have been many movies filmed at the observatory such as Charlie's Angels, La La Land and the Terminator.

Inside the observatory there are some exhibits open to the public to see from the "Big Picture" which is an in depth image of the known universe which is the largest astronomical image in the world and a Tesla coil.

One of the most exciting parts of the observatory is the Samuel Oschin Planetarium which hosts shows every 60-90 minutes every day. It was named after Samual Oschin was a Jewish philanthropist from Ohio who is most well known for his donations which supported many scientific ventures including the planetarium at the Griffith Observatory.

When you first enter the building you are in a room with a beautiful ceiling mural and a Foucault Pendulum which uses the spin of the earth to read the time.

Of course other than Griffith being an amazing name it is definitely worth the hike and the battle for a parking spot and will not only give a scientific touch to travels but is just overall beautiful.

Here are some pictures I took on my trip!