93 million miles: distance from Earth to the Sun.
93 million dollars: cost of transforming the Griffith Observatory.
After five years of darkness, Hollywood's historic Griffith Observatory re-opened yesterday with much hoopla, and many happy nerds.
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TINY VIDEOS shot with a tiny camera:
* Ribbon cutting with Mayor Villaraigosa (0:27)
* Zeiss 12" refracting telescope (2:41)
* A walk on the roof, with Jen Collins. (2:07)
PHOTOS: Link to Flickr photoset.
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I went to the ribbon-cutting ceremony with my pal Jen Collins, who art directed a documentary about the reconstruction (which stars Leonard Nimoy who was present, too).
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Observatory director E.C. Krupp, and a host of celebs and politicians were there speechifying. But the real stars in the house were all the astronomers and old-school science buffs, some of whom were part of the Observatory's history since its early days.
Jen and I wandered around and drooled over the Zeiss 12" refracting telescope, the Tesla Coil, the camera obscura, and lots of amazing hands-on astronomy exhibits. Thankfully, the extreme makeover left the spirit of this beautiful 1930s site intact.
My grandfather Leo J. Scanlon was an amateur astronomer. He was a "maker." Born to an Irish immigrant family in Pittsburgh, PA, he made his living as a plumber but used to dumpster-dive in steel mills and glass factories with pals, scavenging glass and metal to build telescopes and backyard observatories. He built the world's first aluminum-domed observatory in Pittsburgh, and Einstein came to visit it once. His observatory was torn down, but I have a marker and an asteroid to remember him by.
Yesterday at the opening ceremony, Griffith Observatory resident Astronomical Observer Tony Cook told me one of the astronomers involved in the original design of this site was part of the same amateur astronomy scene as my beloved "pop-pop," during the Great Depression. They may even have been friends. I can't wait to learn more about the history those two men shared.
A love of the stars connected them back in the '30s, when Griffith Observatory was built. That same love still connects me and my grandfather, even now that he has left this planet to join those far-away specks of light.
David "eecue" Bullock from blogging.la was there at the Observatory opening, too. Here are his pics from the grand opening yesterday: Link. Here is his photoset of HDR pics from a tour last week: Link. Here is audio he captured of Villaraigosa and others, during the ribbon cutting ceremony: MP3 Link.
Tech notes: video and stills shot with the itty bitty Canon Powershot SD360, photos and video edited with iMovie and iPhoto. Linux users: if the embedded video above makes your browswer farty, try the new Flash 9 beta which includes Linux support: Link. (Thanks, Micki Krimmel and Steven Starr / Revver.com)
Reader comment: Jim Winstead says,
As the page you linked to says, "Since opening in 1935, more than seven million people have put an eye to Griffith Observatory's original 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope." What is new is an attached telescope (or two?) that allows a live video feed to be shown down in the main building, for guests who can't (or don't want to) make the climb to the telescope. Link
David Friedman says,
What? A whole article about Griffith Observatory and its history, but no mention of the fact that it figured prominently in "Rebel Without a Cause"? You must be saving that for an "Observatory Zen" entry, huh? Here's the famous fight scene at the observatory: video Link.
(look for Dennis Hopper in the background at 1:48 into the clip)
This follows a lengthy scene inside the observatory, but alas there is no clip on the YouTube.
