An ode to the Griffith Observatory on the 70th anniversary of Rebel Without A Cause

When it comes to public parks built by abusive drunks who shot their wives in the face, Griffith Park is at the very top of my list. By all accounts and AI summaries I've seen, the absurdly named Griffith J. Griffith was a terrible man...but he left Los Angeles with probably my top three favorite things in the city: Griffith Park, The Greek Theater, and the Griffith Observatory.

I was first introduced to the Observatory as a young movie obsessive. It was a truly iconic location and felt like the ultimate shining symbol of exotic Hollywood glamor to me, growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania. In addition to Rebel Without A Cause, it was featured prominently in Terminator 1, Charlie's Angels, Dragnet, The Rocketeer, 90210, and as I just found out- a deleted scene with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone from Gangster Squad (directed by Ruben Fleischer who went to college with me and once tried to claim my futon as his own after summer break. Ruben, if you're reading this, I forgive you)

Gosling looking out over the city for futons to steal. Write what you know!

Anyway, back to the ode. As anyone who has seen the Observatory knows, it's just a stunning piece of architecture with incredible views of Los Angeles. I had been in the habit of hiking up there in the early mornings with Miles this year, and I'm pretty sure he was impressed with it too.

I've gotten out of the routine of hiking up to it recently because I began hiking barefoot at the suggestion of a group of older Koreans who hike there every morning, but I can tell they feel betrayed when they see me on the trail with shoes on and I just don't feel like facing their wrath on days when I feel like wearing shoes.

Sorry, I've gone off track again. The main reason for this post is that I got tickets for Lynn and I to attend a screening last night of Rebel Without A Cause at the Observatory on the ocassion of its 70th anniversary. It was a great event, one of the things that breaks through my hardened cynicism about this city. Ahead of the screening the museum was open after hours to ticket holders and Lynn and I explored each section, and special props that were brought to commemorate the film.

A 1949 Mercury Coupe was parked outside the entrance, along with a still from the film. They should've included Natalie Wood's bra, another marvel of modern engineering and Hollywood myth creation.

Lynn posing with the '49 Mercury Coupe

me and a telescope

we come in peace ✌️

a previous trip up to the observatory, as posted on Weibo (before I got kicked off, it's a long story for another post)

Rebel Without A Cause Trivia before the screening

undated photo of Lynn celebrating the observatory

The pendulum clock right inside the main entrance

poster for the event. James Dean's eyes were too hypnotic to include in the design I guess

A photo of friends visiting from North Carolina years ago

Lynn in the planetarium

And finally, the other-worldly elevator down to the lower floor which was added twenty years ago in a renovation that added new spaces to the observatory like the Leondard Nimoy theater, where the movie was screened.

So in summary:

Griffith J. Griffith = bad

The park, observatory, and concert venue he bequeathed = great

Rebel Without A Cause at 70 = still iconic

James Dean & Natalie Wood's age gap = it was a different time

Los Angeles = still a magical place to live sometimes