Things to do nearGriffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory opened in 1935, fulfilling a bequest from Griffith J. Griffith, who donated land and funds to the city of Los Angeles with the explicit intention of making astronomy accessible to the general public at no charge. The building itself, designed in the Beaux-Arts tradition with strong Art Deco detailing, sits at roughly 1,134 feet above sea level on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood within Griffith Park.

Inside, the central rotunda houses the Foucault pendulum, a long-running demonstration that makes the rotation of the Earth visible in real time as the pendulum's plane of swing slowly shifts throughout the day. The Samuel Oschin Planetarium, located in the west dome, presents regularly scheduled shows narrated by live astronomers and projected onto a domed ceiling using a Zeiss star projector. The east dome contains a Zeiss refracting telescope available for public viewing on clear nights, and a solar telescope on the roof allows daytime visitors to observe the sun safely. Exhibits spread across multiple levels address topics from the mechanics of the solar system to the physics of light and the scale of the known universe.

The surrounding grounds offer some of the most photographed views of the Hollywood Sign and the Los Angeles Basin, drawing visitors who come as much for the cityscape as for the science. The observatory's appearance in films including Rebel Without a Cause has embedded it firmly in popular culture, lending it a layer of cinematic history alongside its scientific mission. Griffith Observatory earns its place as one of Los Angeles's most enduring public institutions precisely because it delivers genuine educational depth alongside views that few city landmarks anywhere can match.