Griffith Park and Observatory
Griffith Park is the largest municipal park in the United States with a museum of the American West and the most beautiful views of Hollywood from the observatory.
Video: Griffith Park and Observatory
General Information
Griffith Park is spread out at the foot of the Santa Monica Mountains. In 1896, the 1,220-hectare site was given to the city by Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith, along with some money to build the Greek Theater (1930) and an observatory, which now houses an astronomical museum. It houses a large Zeiss telescope, several smaller telescopes, and in the Samuel Osshin Planetarium you can enjoy a great laser show in. And in the park itself is the Museum of the American West (open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), which was co-founded by actor Gene Autry. The museum tells the story of the influence of the culture of the West on world civilization.
.The Observatory (www.griffithobservatory.org) took five years to restore. The project cost $93 million dollars. Now throngs of tourists come here. Reservations are not required, but parking is limited, and you may have to walk upstairs to the observatory.
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In Griffith Park you can walk through shady alleys or on special paths (maps are available at the forestry office), climb hills covered with thorny bushes. In the southeastern part of the park, at the Los Feliz entrance, you can ride a miniature railroad or pony. There’s an old-fashioned children’s carousel near the central woodshed, and picnic areas, 28 tennis courts, and four golf courses with large parking lots nearby. To the north is the Los Angeles Zoo, where more than a thousand species of animals roam over 31 hectares.
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