Griffith Observatory To Unveil Nimoy Theater
By MichelleOctober 9, 2006 - 5:24 PM
The Griffith Observatory, a historic Los Angeles star-watching center - that's celestial stars, not celebrities - will reopen on November 3rd after several years of renovation, allowing the public a first glimpse of the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater for lectures, films and docent demonstrations.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the plans from Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, where the observatory was built in 1935. The Nimoy Theater's first program will be "The Once and Future Griffith Observatory" - an 18-minute documentary narrated by Leonard Nimoy (Spock), who along with his wife Susan helped to fund the building with a $1 million donation, according to StarTrek.com.
The observatory's new planetarium show, "Centered in the Universe", was co-written by Enterprise staff writer Andre Bormanis, a longtime science consultant on previous Star Trek series. He and Nimoy are both expected to attend the gala reopening of the observatory on October 29th. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Nimoy Theater is planned for November 2nd. Reservations can be made at the Griffith Observatory web site.
"The Observatory has been an icon here in Los Angeles for over 70 years...I remember coming here many times as a young boy and being awestruck by the limitless universe that we're a part of," Villaraigosa said during his announcement of the celebration. He added, "If this doesn't blow your socks off, you don't have socks!"
Despite internal renovations, the facade of the observatory has not changed significantly since it appeared in the Voyager episode "Future's End, Part I" when Tom Paris and Tuvok visited the facility to erase evidence of the starship's accidental time travel. Because large crowds are expected after the reopening, cars will not be permitted to drive up to the Observatory and timed entry tickets are necessary.
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