One of the rewarding stopovers for a break along the steep roads in Griffith Park is the elevated terrace in front and around the observatory. As a “Christmas present” in 1912 Griffith J. Griffith put up the funds for the park’s Greek Theatre and the Griffith Observatory, which wouldn’t be completed until 1935, 16 years after the Welsh-born American industrialist and philanthropist had already died. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith had already donated 3,015 acres (12.20 km2) to the City of Los Angeles which became Griffith Park. Ever since, this three-domed Art Deco monument holds a certain mystique among the many enduring landmarks in Los Angeles.
Positioned on the south face of Mount Hollywood, the highest peak in the park, the sight of the city rippling in the sun or twinkling at night from the Observatory’s terraces are unforgettable. Scores of movies and TV shows have chosen this location, among which James Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is the one that lifted the observatory’s into the international limelight. The 25-metre, copper clad central dome houses the Samuel Oschin Planetarium, which screens Centered in the Universe, a hi-res trip through time, via discoveries by Ptolemy and Galileo, and space, through the Milky Way, and landing back on the Griffith Observatory’s front lawn. Inside, you can also look through several telescopes and explore space-oriented displays.