Griffith Observatory
Griffith J. Griffith’s experience on Mount Wilson in 1904 focused his desire to make science more accessible to the public. On December 12, 1912, he offered the City of Los Angeles $100,000 for an observatory to be built on the top of Mount Hollywood. Griffith drafted detailed specifications for the observatory, consulting with Walter Sydney Adams, the future director of Mount Wilson Observatory, and George Ellery Hale, who founded the first astrophysical telescope in Los Angeles. As a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, construction began on June 20, 1933, using a design developed by architects John C. Austin and Frederic Morse Ashley typically identified as Art Deco with both Moderne and Modified Greek influences. The Observatory opened to the public on May 14, 1935, logging more than 13,000 visitors in its first five days.
Griffith Park, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Photographer: John Bare