Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California, on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The observatory is a popular tourist attraction with a close view of the Hollywood Sign and an extensive array of space and science-related displays. It is named after its benefactor, Griffith J. Griffith. Admission has been free since the observatory's opening in 1935, in accordance with the benefactor's will.
Griffith Observatory, September 2006
Image: Griffith Observatory Logo
Side view of the Observatory in 2007 after renovations
Griffith Observatory during dawn
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Historically, observatories were as simple as containing an astronomical sextant or Stonehenge.
The Sphinx Observatory on a mountain top in the Swiss Alps at 3,571 m (11,716 ft)
Atacama Large Millimeter Array, Chile, at 5,058 m (16,594 ft)
Paranal Observatory, Chile, home of the VLT at 2,635 m (8,645 ft)
The Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii, home of several of the world's largest optical telescopes at 4,205 m (13,796 ft)
