Griffith Observatory launches a year-long celebration of its 90th anniversary

Griffith Observatory held a party on Wednesday, May 14, celebrating its 90th anniversary, and the leaders who make sure the observatory will live on praised its importance to Los Angeles and to the world.

“Griffith Observatory is so much more than the building you see behind me,” said Danish Khan, president of Griffith Observatory Foundation. “It’s a bridge. A bridge between science and wonder. Between the individual and the infinite. A bridge that connects generations. And what makes it truly unique—what makes it matter—is that it belongs to everyone. …  A public observatory is something very few places in the world can claim, and this one is ours.”

The observatory attracts about 1.6 million visitors annually. Ed Krupp, director of Griffith Observatory, said the observatory “has become the most-visited public observatory on the planet.” He noted that, “Griffith Observatory is now officially a nonagenarian with a 90-year heritage of astronomical enthusiasm. It’s clear a place like this comes along only once in a blue moon.”

Among the high points in the history of the observatory, military pilots trained in the planetarium theater to navigate by the stars in 1942, and in 1997 people watched the famed Comet Hale-Bopp from Griffith Observatory — more sightings of that comet than anywhere else on Earth.

Mark Pine, deputy director at Griffith Observatory said this week’s anniversary celebration offered “amazing speakers and students singing ‘Happy Birthday, Griffith Observatory!’ How else would you want to celebrate a signature anniversary?”