Griffith Observatory: It's Back!

Late last year, the mysterious inaccessible building up in the Hollywoood Hills finally re-opened. I had seen it in episodes of Alias, wondering "Hey, what is that?" Well, now I know -- it's the Griffith Observatory, closed for several years for renovations.

My British friend Suzie and her husband Daryl were in town, so we hopped on the mandatory shuttle bus (they don't allow cars). Once aboard, we were subjected to a repeating instructional video, starring international teenagers overdosed with Prozac and Red Bull. They got us to ponder about space with 1st grade level Science Wonders, such as "Did you know there's a planet with rings?". However, they spent most of their time insisting that there were bathrooms on every floor except the roof. (Presumably, one can use it as is, or go off the side, which is a, what, maybe a few hundred foot drop down into sprawling hollywood mountainscapes? Fun with Parabolas!)

Overall, I was underwhelmed by the interior (they didn't reopen the laser show!?!? Damn them!), but we picked an incredibly clear day to go up there. Hence all my photos are of the outside and the insanely blue sky. Besides, the line for Leonard Nimoy's show was over an hour wait. Might as well just go watch Star Trek...

More photos (from my 35mm camera) pending.