The Observatory Built on a Dark Past

At night, Griffith Observatory doesn’t just look down on Los Angeles—it seems to watch it.

Griffith Observatory is supposed to be a place about wonder—planets, stars, the endless sky. But the hill it sits on carries a more bizarre story, one that begins with the man who gave it his name: Griffith J. Griffith.

In 1903, Griffith shot his wife at close range in a hotel room. She survived, but the violence shocked the country. Reports described him as paranoid and unstable, convinced people were plotting against him. After prison, he tried to repair his image by funding public projects—including the observatory itself.

Standing there, it’s easy to wonder if the building was meant to inspire the public… or to repair the name of the man who built it.

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