The Griffith Observatory is a planetarium, and an hall located in Los Angeles's Griffith Park. It several astronomical displays and telescopes in the Hollywood in the Los Feliz district of the city. Observatory was built on land donated by Griffith . Griffith in 1896. Griffith was a Welsh-born philanthropist mining tycoon, who wanted to give the public to a state-of-the-art observatory, so it was free charge to visitors. He felt common people should able to enjoy the wonders of the universe, not be solely for the scientific community.

Griffith 3,015 acres of land specifically to house the that opened on May 14, 1935. During the five days after the opening, the planetarium averaged than 13,000 visitors a day. One of the attractions was the Foucault Pendulum that is designed show the earth's rotation and the Zeiss reflecting . The observatory has a striking view of Los and Hollywood, and the Pacific Ocean can be on clear days from there.

In 2002 the was subjected to a $93 million renovation and , which closed the museum for four years. After reopened in 2006, the facility expanded underground with exhibits, a cafe, a gift shop, and a . The Wilder Hall of the Eye section concentrates the astronomical aspect of the observatory. It is people can view the stars through the observatory's , and features an interactive exhibit that is very . The Ahmanson Hall of the Sky is another attraction for viewing images in the night sky are visible to the naked eye. The observatory stages viewing nights when the public is invited bring their own telescopes. It is open daily, remains free of charge.