Griffith Observatory - How a rebel put it on the map

The Griffith Observatory is located at 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles. The Observatory sits 1134 feet above sea level and is located on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood above the neighborhood of Los Feliz. But like may things in Los Angeles the Griffith Observatory is not what it seems; it is far more than an observatory for astronomy.

The Griffith Observatory named after and built by Griffith J. Griffith was completed on the 14 May, 1935. Hansen et al. state in A History of Griffith Observatory (2014), the idea for an observatory came to Griffith on a visit to Europe where he discovered great public parks, and decided his home Los Angeles needed the same in order for it to become a great city. On his return from Europe in 1896 Hansen et al. comment, Griffith donated 3015 acres of Rancho Los Feliz to the city of Los Angeles to create a public park in his name. Griffith (1896) stated in Hansen et al. (2014), “it must be made a place of rest and relaxation for the masses, a resort for the rank and file, for the plain people.” Griffith (1896) further commented in Hansen et al. (2014), “I consider it my obligation to make Los Angeles a happy, cleaner, and finer city. I wish to pay my debt of duty in this way to the community in which I have prospered.” The building and completion of the park and observatory was not seen in Griffith’s lifetime, he died July 6, 1919. With the completion of the park and observatory in 1935 it was officially opened and still to today continues to serve the Los Angeles community and is an icon of the city.

Griffith Observatory - Hollywood Sign. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Hollywood Sign. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Right side of building. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Lookout from right side of building. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Arch on right hand side of building. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Overlooking Griffith park running tracks. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Front entrance to building. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Right hand side view. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Panoramic Shot of Downtown Los Angeles towards northern hills of Los Angeles. L-R. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - Panoramic shot of Griffith Park and Mount Hollywood above the neighbourhood of Los Feliz. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

A key to the Griffith Observatory being an icon of Los Angeles is due to its use as a film location. In 1955 the Griffith Observatory was put on the map and cemented in cinema history as it was home to the famous knife-wielding scene in the cult classic Rebel Without a Cause with the original rebel James Dean. It is amazing how a two minute scene can for a life time create nostalgia and put a place on the map. Nicola Balkind states in World Film Locations Los Angeles (2011, p. 24), “The long sequence takes place at the park’s walled edge, overlooking the urban sprawl of North Hollywood.” Balkind (2011, p. 24) recalls the scene set at the Griffith Observatory, “as Stark resists, the scene escalates, the sprawl beyond the walls becoming wider and more threatening. High angle shots widen the depth of field and the eerie sensation of escalating danger, though the Observatory surveys the stars, we observe the fight from high angles as they jab and flinch.” Balkind (2011, p. 24) further comments, “A characteristic LA smog hangs above the city, recognisably thick and oppressive, muddying the horizon to create a feeling of entrapment.” While this scene is iconic in the film and for film buffs, the scene transcended the location of Griffith Observatory as an icon of Los Angeles. Due to this scene from Rebel Without a Cause the Griffith Observatory is forever recognisable and was the beginning for film, television, advertisement and live morning show segments to be held and shot at the Griffith Observatory.

Rebel Without a Cause – Switch Blade Game

The icon scene from Rebel Without a Cause that set the Griffith Observatory as an icon for film and as a symbol of Los Angeles.

Griffith Observatory - Main Entrance, to the right of the picture is the scene from Rebel Without a Cause. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Griffith Observatory - A memorial statue to James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause, it is located on the right of the building where the scene in the film was shot. Photo: Andrew Mitchell.

Griffith Observatory - On the right hand side of the building looking back towards where the James Dean statue and film scene was shot. Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Even in Australia the Griffith Observatory represents Los Angeles as when Channel 7 broadcasts a commentator or public figure from Los Angeles the image of the Griffith Observatory over looking Los Angeles is used as a back drop behind the person in frame to signify the location of the speaker.

A correspondent interview between the Channel 7 Sunrise Program and an interviewee from Los Angeles, please note the Griffith Observatory in the background. - Photo: Andrew Mitchell

Another film that was set in Griffith Park is the science fiction and Steven Spielberg classic Back to the Future Part Two. The scene is set in the tunnel in Griffith Park on the way up to the Griffith Observatory. The scene depicts Marty McFly who has gone from 1985 to the future and as a result of a stolen Almanac from the 1950s has then had to go back in time to steal the Almanac from the young 1950s Biff to set the course of his life back on track. The scene is not only iconic for the film and the implications of the science fiction genre with the use of a time machine but is iconic to the Griffith Observatory as it again puts the park and observatory on the map as an icon of the city of Los Angeles and further cements its place in Hollywood film location history. 

Back to the Future Part 2 – Battle for the Book

This scene depicts the tunnel in Griffith Park on the way up and just before the Griffith Observatory car park.

While the Griffith Observatory took off as a filming location in 1955 after Rebel Without a Cause it first appeared on screen in the 1935 film The Phantom Empire. Since then including both Rebel Without a Cause and Back to the Future Part Two the Griffith Observatory has appeared various times in many films such as: War of the Colossal Beast (1958), The Cosmic Man (1959), Flesh Gordon (1974), The Terminator (1984), Dragnet (1987), The Rocketeer (1991), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), The End of Violence (1997), House on the Haunted Hill (1999), Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Transformers (2007), Yes Man (2008) and Terminator Salvation (2009).

Along with these films the Griffith Observatory has also appeared in many Television programs and episodes such as 24, Adventures of Superman, Alias, Angel, Beverly Hills 90210, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Brothers and Sisters, CHiPs, Criminal Minds, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, MacGyver, Melrose Place, Millionaire Matchmaker, Keeping up with the Kardashians, 90210 and The Amazing Race. In these shows it appears some times as a location for a scene or an image between scenes as an establishment shot.

With the Griffith Observatory being represented time and time again in film and television it has become a symbol of Los Angeles which has become a way for Los Angeles to recognise it self and sell it self to the world. This idea of identification of a city through a landmark is evident in Grand Theft Auto 5. A video game based in Los Angeles with the maps of the game being famous and recognisable landmarks. In Grand Theft Auto 5 the Griffith Observatory appears as one of its maps showing the success of the observatory as a land mark to sell and represent Los Angeles to the world.

Grand Theft Auto 5 – Griffith Observatory

This depicts the map of the Griffith Observatory in Grand Theft Auto 5.

While the Griffith Observatory has been communicated to the world through film, television, video games and as a place to visit it is also represented in music such as 2Pac’s song To live and die in LA. The Griffith Observatory appears in the film clip and is apart of the song which is a memoir of the city of LA and all that makes up LA.

2Pac – To live and die in LA

Images of the Griffith Observatory are present in the film clip.

Like I mentioned at the start the Griffith Observatory is far more then a scientific laboratory for astronomy. It is a community, an icon of Los Angeles and the beacon that stands above the city. While it has been represented in many forms of media from music, video games and television the representational process started through film and the original vision of Griffith. This being the observatory was for the community and to be used by the community of Los Angeles. Through this representation on film it has become a way for Los Angeles to communicate itself to the world and as time has gone since its explosion on the film market in Rebel Without a cause it has continued to service Los Angeles as a way to communicate the city. It is an image that through cinema has created its own meaning and through cinema has been glorified as a symbol for Los Angeles.

Bibliography:

-Back to the Future Part 2 (12/12) Movie CLIP – Battle for the Book (1989) HD, YouTube clip, MOVIECLIPS, 27 May 2011, retrieved 12 January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tGWHkKzeeI

-GTA V Los Angeles Griffith Observatory, YouTube clip, myVCRstillworks, 17 September 2013, retrieved 12 January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGNPb2fPDRY

-Hansen, C, Wang, M, College, P & Cook, A 2014, A History of Griffith Observatory, Griffith Observatory, retrieved 12 January 2015, http://www.griffithobservatory.org/about/history.html

-James Dean Switch Blade Game – Rebel Without a Cause (1955), YouTube clip, ghostofmyheart, 27 August 2011, retrieved 12 January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpm4NGSWH2I

-Solomons, G 2011, World Film Locations Los Angeles, Intellect Books, retrieved 12 January 2015, http://deakin.eblib.com.au.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=773628&echo=1&userid=GPIwEjgV9b7WRrUrq5c%2bjg%3d%3d&tstamp=1421369644&id=EFADE746D3BD1877BB039AF911B64D02DA02CC50

-2Pac – To live and die in LA, YouTube clip, Mashman, 17 April 2012, retrieved 12 January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m3B060jo_o