We made a short trip to Los Angeles in September, but due to various other posts and trying to be seasonal, so far I have only writing about Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. Now it is time to cover the rest of the trip.
One of those stops was the Griffith Observatory. I am afraid it was kind of disappointing.
They have a lot of cool things, but the layout is not user-friendly.
We did want to see one of the shows, so we bought tickets.
The directions given for getting inside the theater just kept getting more confusing.
There are doors to the theater inside, and a lot of people lining up there, but you are supposed to go outside and then they will bring you in.
We did not see a line outside, or a sign. We went back inside and asked, and they said it was on the side, as i f it would be very obvious. It was not.
I can't believe we are the only ones who found it confusing, especially since so many people were lined up inside.
Maybe people not following the directions is how they get by, but that does not seem ideal.
Plus, they really do have live narrators, and ours really was pretentious.
I know it doesn't have to be this way. I had just finished reading Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel.
There was a statue of him outside. I immediately knew it was him and was glad to see him. Connections can be made.
They do seem to function well as a community space, with stargazing events and things. For frequent visitors who know the layout, it probably works well.
It should be possible to do a little better for the tourist trade.
As it was, my favorite part was not particularly scientific, but a timeline of the cosmos decorated with jewelry and trinkets.
Shiny!
I should also note that events really clog up the parking. We took a rideshare there because we did not have a car anyway, but that was really the better choice.
COVID: It gets pretty crowded so I do recommend masking. There is a fair amount to see outside as well, with views and hiking trails, but that's not really being at the observatory so much as near it as part of the larger park.
Accessibility: As an older building there are lots of steps. There are also ramps and elevators, but given how difficult navigation is, it can be a little daunting.
It was a little disappointing. If only we had gone with James Dean.
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