Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes. The Astronomers Monument is a large outdoor concrete sculpture on the front lawn of Griffith Observatory that pays homage to six of the greatest astronomers: Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Herschel. Artist Archibald Garner designed the sculpture commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Garner worked with five other artists (each responsible for sculpting one astronomer) including George Stanley responsible for the "Oscar" statuette. The monument was dedicated November 25, 1934, six months before the Observatory opened.; In 1896 Griffith J. Griffith donated over 3000 acres of Rancho Los Felis to the City of Los Angeles to create a public park in his name. In 1912 he offered the city $100,000 for an observatory to be built on the top of Mount Hollywood. Designed by architects John C. Austin and Frederick M. Ashley, Griffith Observatory (2800 East Observatory Road) was completed in 1935. In 1976 the observatory was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #168. In 1997 the Department of Recreation and Parks hired project architect Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (now Pfeiffer Partners, Inc.) and associate architect Levin & Associates Architects to design a major renovation and expansion project for the observatory, which was completed in 2006. Griffith Park was declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #942 in 2009. Photograph dated 1938 was used for an article dated June 29, 1939; it reads, "Seeing stars is one of the interesting programs planned by the National Speech Tournament next Thursday morning, when over 800 delegates from all parts of the country will be on hand to take the trip to the Griffith Park Observatory."
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Griffith Observatory Observatories--California--Los Angeles Parks--California--Los Angeles Astronomers--Statues--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Santa Monica Mountains (Calif.) Griffith Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) Griffith Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Aerial views Aerial photographs Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Austin, John C. W.(John Corneby Wilson),1870-1963 Ashley, Frederick M Garner, Archibald Newell, Gordon(Blair Gordon) Stanley, George Burnham, Roger Noble,1876-1962 Foerester, Arnold
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