The money to build the Griffith Observatory and the land surrounding it was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith with the understanding that, “It must be made a place of rest and relaxation for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people.” It officially opened to the public on May 14, 1935 and is now visited by over 1 million people each year.
It's also one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. That's me an my brother in the photo. I used to live 1 mile from Observatory in Los Feliz and would regularly hike up the mountain via one of its hundreds of trails.