Located on an incline above Los Angeles City, and just a stone's throw from the world famous Hollywood Sign that stands tall above the city, is the Griffith Park Observatory. This was built using the funds in Colonel Griffith J. Griffith's will on his command, after stating that if “all mankind could look through that telescope, it would change the world”. It was opened in 1935 and has been fulfilling his visions ever since, with more people looking through the Zeiss telescope than any other telescope in the world.
Every evening, there are free public telescopes set up on the lawn when the observatory is open. This allows visitors to look to the sky, search for constellations, zoom in on distant planets and to explore the sky at their own pace. For those who want a little bit of help understanding what they are looking at and to learn a little more about the equipment, the history, and the cosmic world, demonstrators are on hand from the observatory until about 9.45pm every evening.
One Saturday every month, the staff at the observatory host a free event for the public called a Star Party. This start at 2.00pm and run through to 9.45 with the help of volunteers from the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, the Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers and the Planetary Society. These are particularly good for families with children of all ages who are interested in the night sky. Participants are able to quiz the volunteers for information, to try out different telescopes and find out about their different functions, to talk to enthusiastic and knowledgable people and to get involved with the world beyond our atmosphere. For a list of dates, check out the Griffith Observatory website which lays out the plan for the entire year (http://www.griffithobservatory.org/programs/publictelescopes.html).
As well as the Star Parties, the observatory also holds a free evening on the first Friday of every month in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon called “All Space Considered”. This is a discussion about recent happenings and relevant topics in the world of astronomy, headed by the observatory's curatorial staff. Seating for these events is distributed on a first come-first serve basis. Some of the talks are also filmed and streamed live through their website.
All year round, Griffith Park attracts many visitors for hiking and outdoor activities up to and around the iconic Hollywood sign. In good weather it offers arguably the best views over Downtown LA and almost all of the city is visible from various points of the park. It has been featured in many movies and films, and has even been animated in The Bojack Horseman Show, so you can walk in the footsteps of some of your favourite movie stars. There are walks for all abilities, public transportation from various parts of LA, and multiple car parks that facilitate the area.
For those who wish to escape the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, either by losing themselves in the nature of the park or by losing themselves in the romance of the night sky, Griffith Park is a perfect place to spend some time.