The Griffith Observatory is located on mount Hollywood, in Griffith park. In 1896 Griffith J. Griffith (yes, his first name is the same as his last name) donated the 3,015 acres that is now Griffith park to the city of Los Angeles. That is just amazing, he donated 3,015 acres!! He felt that Los Angeles needed a "great park" (it did!)(It also needs a giant air purifier).
The "vision" for the observatory came after Griffith looked through a telescope and stated, "Man's sense of values ought to be revised. If all mankind could look through that telescope, it would change the world!"
So in 1912 he offered the City of Los Angeles $100,000 for an observatory to be built on the top of Mount Hollywood to be fully owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. Do you know how much $100,000 dollars was back in 1912!!!
The observatory opened in 1935. The city of Los Angeles enlisted the nations leading scientist and astronomers to help construct the observatory. Unfortunately Griffith died in 1919, so he never was able to see the observatory completed. The Great depression and a few earthquakes were to blame for the delay in construction.
The web site and flyers claim that this observatory is one of the most famous and visited landmarks in southern California. We found it to be a refreshing break from the mass crowds we have experienced everywhere else.
Looking south to downtown L.A.
*Interesting note: This is all, including where I am standing, the city of Los Angeles. If this were a picture of Seattle this would be downtown, Bellevue, Northgate, Lynnwood, and then some. L.A. is so big! Maybe they should break it up a little, give the police some smaller areas to work with.
Looking west to Santa Barbra and the coast. (cough cough) It's over there, I promise.
The north view is the famous Hollywood sign.
I took a lot of pictures of the building, the 1930's architecture made me feel creative. The dome roofs are made of copper.
There have been over 250 movies (scenes) filmed at the observatory. This picture may look familar, it is where Demi Moore punked Charlies Angels in Full Throttle.
According to a little movie we watched in the Leonard Nimoy theater here at the observatory, the movie "Rebel without a cause", staring James Dean is what put the Griffith Observatory "on the map".
This dome is the home of the Zeiss Telescope. The Zeiss is a 12 inch refracting telescope, it is best used to view the night sky. Unfortunately, we were unable to view the night sky due to somebody's bedtime. We were going to stay but we had a MTTM - Massive Total Toddler Meltdown, and decided to pack it up and get him to bed.
This is the actual telescope. It is the same telescope originally installed in 1935, and it is in perfect condition. If you don't have a 2 year old throwing massive fits, you can stay and look right into this very lens. Tonight we were going to see Jupiter.
This is looking down from the roof onto the front lawn.
The inside of the observatory was immaculate and beautiful. This was a rare photo opportunity when there were actually (gasp) no other tourists around! This exhibit is called the Cosmic Connection. It is a 150-foot timeline of the universe whimsically composed of celestial-themed jewelry in a glass case.
Here Sean and Jason are looking at a really neat Periodic Table of Elements exhibit.
The boxes had the actual elements inside them.
Ahh Ha! Watch your back Superman, I know were to find your poison... (insert villainous laughter) ...Oh, wait, never mind.
This dome ceiling was hand painted in the 1930's.
Another popular toddler restraint system used by the Brouwer's.
Sean....going where no toddler has gone before (imagine Star Trek intro music).
This is the Depths of Space exhibit. It gives detailed information about every planet, the sun, galaxies, solar systems and the moon.
Here is Sean looking at the moon.
This is an actual piece of the moon!
Sean and Mr.Einstein.
In the Depths of Space exhibit, you can see what your weight would be on other planets.
I've decided to move to Mars.
I do not recommend Jupiter!
Hello Pluto, I love you! I don't care what they say about you, you will always be a planet in my eyes. XOXOXO
No wonder Jason thinks taking care of Sean isn't hard work.
You made it through another long post, it was worth it wasn't it!
Sean and I will be flying home tomorrow, so there will probably be a week long break in my blogging. Don't forget about me, I'll be back in CA on Mon the 8th.
Have a good week, hopefully I will see you soon!
Sarah
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