L.A. STAR MAKES A COMEBACK REVITALIZED GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY RETURNS THE SPARKLE TO FANS' EYES.

Byline: BRAD A. GREENBERG Staff Writer

GRIFFITH PARK -- Starry-eyed, Mariela Ruiz enjoyed the fulfillment of her ninth birthday wish Friday and stared at an exhibit of meteorite origins at the Griffith Observatory.

After a four-year and $93 million renovation, the storied exhibition into deep space had been open to the public for only 30 minutes. And from the size of Mariela's smile, it appeared the expense had been worth the wait.

``It's so beautiful with all the stuff from space,'' the North Hollywood girl said after touching a 355-pound fragment of an iron meteorite that more than 20,000 years ago smashed into the Arizona desert and created a crater 4,200 feet in diameter.

``I love space.''

Mariela and her father, Hector, were among the first of more than 1,000 visitors who crowded through the renovated observatory on opening day. Some 40,000 square feet larger than the previous building of 27,000 -- achieved by excavating a massive basement beneath the front lawn -- most everything that isn't new has been retouched, refinished or replaced.

``Before the renovation, it was like an old lady who needed to be spruced up a little bit,'' said Rebecca Gilchrist, a retired entertainment publicist who for 26 years has lived two miles below in Los Feliz and was the first person to arrive Friday. ``The additions are really quite elegant.''

Until it closed for renovations in 2002, about 70 million people had visited the observatory, including about 2 million annually during later years.

An iconic L.A. landmark surpassed perhaps only by the Hollywood sign, the observatory's regal lawn and glimmering dome have been the backdrop of countless movies, the most famous being James Dean's ``Rebel Without a Cause.''

``I've been coming here since elementary school days,'' Dave Thomson, 60, of Sun Valley, said as he waited for a ticket. ``It has a real nostalgic value.''

The renovation left nothing untouched. The planetarium was gutted and covered with a new dome. A 200-seat theater named for big donor and fictional-space-pioneer Leonard Nimoy of ``Star Trek'' fame was added under the front lawn.

Also below ground is the largest astronomical image ever produced: a 20-by-152-foot satellite picture from the area around the constellation Virgo. On this wall, called The Big Picture, appear more than 2 million objects invisible to the eye, at least half of which are galaxies. It spans the amount of space covered by a finger held against the sky.

``Amazing. I'm so amazed,'' Pat Rivas, 55, of Moorpark, said after sitting next to a bronze statue of Albert Einstein holding his right index finger in front of his eyes and facing The Big Picture. ``You could come back over and over again.''

For now, the observatory parking lot, which only holds 200 cars, is closed, and visitors can get to the top only by hiking, biking or catching a shuttle at the L.A. Zoo or the Hollywood & Highland Complex.

Because of anticipated demand -- 1,200 people a day -- reservations will be needed for the next three months to possibly a year, observatory officials said.

``I'm just happy people are back in the building,'' said Deputy Director Mark Pine. ``This is the golden age of astronomy and this place is here to bring it to people.''

brad.greenberg(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Above left, Evan, 5, left, and Ian Heidebrink, 6, gaze at the pendulum exhibit at the Griffith Observatory on Friday, its first day open to the public after extensive renovations. Above right, Eric Ortiz is framed by a model of Earth's moon in the observatory.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(3) no caption (Griffith Observatory)

Box:

Star gazing