Griffith Observatory

In 1896 Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated more than three thousand acres of his ranch land on the slopes above Los Angeles to the city as a great public park. Years later he added something more unusual: money and detailed instructions to build a public observatory on that land. He had been moved by a night looking through the large telescope at Mount Wilson, and he wanted every Angeleno to have a chance at the same experience, believing that a direct look at the heavens would change how a person saw the world.

The observatory opened in May 1935 after about two years of construction, a striking building of white concrete and copper domes in the streamlined Art Deco style of its era. From the start it delivered on Griffith's wish: the grounds, the exhibits, and the telescopes were free to the public, and they have remained free ever since, a rare and deliberate act of generosity in a city not always known for them.

The heart of the building is the rooftop dome on its east end, home to a 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope that has been open to the public since 1935. On clear evenings when the observatory is open, staff and volunteers point it at the Moon, the planets, and bright stars, and visitors line up to take a turn. Over the decades so many people have queued for that eyepiece that it is often called the most-looked-through telescope in the world.

Under the central dome is the Samuel Oschin Planetarium, where a state-of-the-art Zeiss star projector throws a sky of thousands of stars onto the dome for live-narrated shows about the cosmos. Around the building, halls of exhibits explain the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the tools astronomers use, including a huge image of the night sky and a working pendulum that quietly demonstrates the turning of the Earth.

Griffith Observatory would be worth the trip for the setting alone. Its terraces command one of the finest views in Los Angeles, the whole basin of the city fanning out to the distant glint of the Pacific by day and a carpet of lights by night, with the Hollywood Sign standing on a nearby ridge. Trails climb up to it through the chaparral of Griffith Park, so many visitors arrive on foot as part of a hike.

The building is also a genuine movie landmark, its domes and terraces recognizable from countless films. Most famously it appears in Rebel Without a Cause, and a bust of James Dean stands on the west lawn in honor of that film legacy. Between the astronomy, the architecture, the views, and the Hollywood history, the observatory manages to be several great Los Angeles experiences stacked on one hilltop.

The observatory sits up Mount Hollywood inside Griffith Park, reached by park roads or by trail from below. Admission to the building and grounds is free; only the planetarium show carries a modest ticket price. It is one of the most popular attractions in the city, so the hilltop parking fills quickly, and coming early or late, visiting on a weekday, or walking up from a lower lot all make the day easier.

For the full experience, come toward evening on a clear night. Explore the exhibits and catch a planetarium show, watch the sunset from the terrace as the city lights come on, and then join the line at a public telescope after dark. The observatory closes one weekday and keeps seasonal hours, so check before you go, and bring a layer, since the hilltop cools off quickly once the sun is down. Free, generous, and unforgettable, it is exactly the place its founder hoped it would be.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.