Griffith Observatory, Astronomical observatory in Mount Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States.
Griffith Observatory is a white building on the south slope of Mount Hollywood, with a tiered, roughly cross-shaped plan. Its main roof carries a large dark grey ribbed dome, a smaller matching dome sits on a lower front-left section, and a pale green faceted polygonal dome stands to the right on a square base. The facade reads "GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY".
Griffith J. Griffith donated 3,015 acres to Los Angeles in 1896 and left funds in his will for an observatory, exhibit hall and planetarium. Construction began on June 20, 1933, to designs by John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley, and the observatory opened on May 14, 1935, as the country's third planetarium. It closed on January 6, 2002, for a $93 million renovation and reopened on November 2, 2006.
The observatory is named after Griffith J. Griffith, who donated the land and funds on the condition that admission remain free, as it has since 1935. The building has appeared in films including Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and La La Land (2017), and in 2021 Adele performed a concert there.
Entry to exhibitions is free, while planetarium shows and parking require separate fees. Weekends and summer evenings can get crowded, so visiting on late weekday mornings works well.
More than nine million people have observed celestial objects through the main telescope, making it the most used public telescope worldwide. The Foucault pendulum in the entrance hall has been swinging for decades, demonstrating Earth's rotation in action.
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