PCAD - City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks, Griffith Park, Observatory and Planetarium, Mount Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA

2800 East Observatory Road
Los Angeles, CA 90027-1255

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Located in Griffith Park; Gebhard and Winter Guide, 1994, cites address as "Western Canyon Road.

Building History

This observatory atop Mount Hollywood was built with money bequeathed by Col. Griffith J. Griffith (d. 1919), a local landowner. Griffith donated half of his ranch's land to the City of Los Angeles on which Griffith Park was created.

Building Notes

The Obelisk to the north of the Griffith Park observatory contained sculptures of the astronomers Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Herschel executed by the artist, Archibald Garner in 1934; interior murals were done by Hugo Ballin, 1935; the central dome housed a large planetarium, the east dome contained a 300 mm. Zeiss refractor telescope of 5 meters focal length and a coelostat in the west dome.

Alteration

Renovated 2002-2005 by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, later known as Pfeiffer Partners; the planetarium was renamed the Samuel Oshin Planetarium.

PCAD id: 912

Publications

"Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California : John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley, architects", Architect and Engineer, 120: 41-43, 1935-01. "Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California : John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley, architects", Architectural Concrete, 1: 2-7. Architectural Concrete, 3: 1, 17-20, 1937. "Ventilating ducts, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California", Architectural Concrete, 1: 1, 11-13, 1935. "The Griffith Planetarium, Los Angeles", Architectural Digest, 9: 2, 91, 1936-1937. Lubell, Sam, "Beloved L.A. landmark reopens", Architectural Record, 194: 12, 26, 2006-12. Fortmeyer, Russell., "The Cosmic Ballet of the Griffith Observatory", Architectural Record, 195: 6, 154-158, 2007-06. "Griffith Observatory and Hall of Science", California Arts and Architecture, 47: 12-16, 1935-03. Werner, Helmut, From the Aratus Globe to the Zeiss Planetarium, 135, 147, 1957. Schleier, Merrill, "The Griffith Observatory in Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955): mystical temple and scientific monument", Journal of Architecture, 16: 3, 365-385, 2011-06. Koenig, Gloria, "Iconic LA: Griffith Observatory", L.A. Architect, 39, 2000/07-08. Gebhard, David, Winter, Robert, "Griffith Park Observatory", Los Angeles An Architectural Guide, 171, 1994. Vincent, Roger, "Restoring L.A. landmarks", Los Angeles Times, B2, 2009-08-02. Walton, Krista, "Cheers to all: Trust presents annual preservation awards", Preservation: the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 59: 6, 7-9, 2007/11-12.

City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks, Griffith Park, Observatory and Planetarium, Mount Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA (1934-1935)

Publications