OBSERVATORY RENOVATION SET TO BEGIN.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

The Griffith Observatory's director looks out his office window at the end of the day to watch the solar system's only star make its way across the horizon - or as most see it, another spectacular L.A. sunset.

Stargazing and catching one of the best views of the city have long attracted residents and tourists to the Mount Hollywood observatory - a landmark that is about to undergo its first-ever renovation and expansion.

After the last show on Jan. 6, the observatory - which has stayed open most days and nights for free, as mandated in the Griffith trust - will close for a two-year, $66 million construction project slated to begin in spring.

``Griffith Observatory is really one of the icons of Los Angeles. It's a civic, a cultural, an architectural icon ... Anyone who has lived here any length of time has their own story to tell about Griffith Observatory,'' said Joy Picus, president of Friends of the Observatory and a former Los Angeles city councilwoman from the San Fernando Valley.

``You go, even at night, families are there, and you hear the zillions of languages Los Angeles is known for. It's just the closing is bittersweet for us: We want to fulfill this renovation, but who will fill this vacuum?''

Preparations for closing the 1935 art deco facility have been under way for more than a decade as plans unfolded to update the decades-old planetarium and enhance its exhibits.

With bond revenue and private donations - including $1 million from ``Star Trek'' star Leonard Nimoy and his wife, and $1 million from the W.M. Keck Foundation - planners hope to create a modern facility while retaining the classic architecture that makes it a beacon on the skyline.

While the famous dome atop Mount Hollywood will remain, its interior will feature new projection systems and exhibits, and a new 200-seat theater, as well as classrooms and a bookstore.

The updated facility is expected to be complete in late 2004 and reopen in 2005 - not as a science museum or educational center, but a place where visitors can practice the ancient art of gazing up at the sky.

``The building is not a book, the building is not a Web site - the building is a place where you put the eye to the telescope and see it,'' said Director Ed Krupp.

``Those kinds of things - monumental, meaningful and absolutely mind- blowing - are where we're headed.''

Still, despite the stellar hopes for the observatory, challenges remain.

Organizers have raised $50 million of the estimated cost, and plan to launch a campaign to attract additional corporate and individual sponsors. Fund-raisers also may turn to the city for an additional $2 million.

Trailers to house observatory offices are expected to be set up by late summer in nearby Griffith Park, but will provide none of the grand vistas the site now offers.

And instead of being able to accommodate hundreds of schoolchildren in the main rotunda, a portable planetarium will be set up that can handle dozens of students. Plans also call for a mobile facility to visit campuses.

The observatory's staff of 17 full-time and 70 part-time employees will face layoffs and transfers because fewer hands will be needed during the interim,

officials said.

The observatory - along with the park and the Greek Theatre - was given to Los Angeles by Col. Griffith J. Griffith, and is now owned and operated by the city's Department of Recreation and Parks.

The observatory hosts 2 million visitors a year in a region where the big city's lights often deter those who simply want to stargaze.

More people saw Halley's Comet, Comet Shoemaker Levy-9 and Comet Hale Bopp at the observatory than at any other gathering point, officials said.

Recently elected Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge held his swearing-in ceremony at the observatory.

``I love the building, pure and simple. ... The observatory is where people from Tarzana to Texas, Singapore to Sunland, rub shoulders,'' the councilman said. ``I want more people to enjoy it.''

Friends of the Observatory was formed in 1978, in part to consider renovations to the then-more-than-40-year-old facility.

The city embarked on a master plan in 1990, and voters approved bonds in subsequent years to help finance the project.

The firm that renovated the Los Angeles Central Library, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, is heading up the project. Los Angeles architect Brenda Levin - known for work on such landmarks as the Wiltern Theater, the Bradbury Building, Grand Central Market and City Hall - will work with the team.

``We took as our responsibility really not altering the exterior at all, but making the interior experience incredibly richer for the visitor,'' said HHPA principal architect Stephen Johnson.

Plans call for adding 35,000 square feet and doubling the public space.

The dome's interior will be covered with smooth aluminum on which the planetarium's shows will be projected, in part with a $3 million computer-guided system.

The lawn in front will be dug out to make way for the 200-seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater, along with classrooms, a new bookstore and other amenities.

The main rotunda will undergo renovation, as will the Foucault Pendulum and the camera obscura. The Hugo Ballin murals will be preserved.

The main floor will retain classic exhibits - one will trace the range of tools used to look at the sky; another will focus on mainstays like the sun and moon, day and night.

The new downstairs level will highlight science's new discoveries.

And, in advance of the improvements, a small ceremony will mark the closing at the 10 p.m. show on Jan. 6,

``It's not going to be with fireworks,'' Krupp said. ``It'll probably be with a tear.''

GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY HOURS

Griffith Observatory will be open 12:30-10 p.m. daily through Jan. 6, including New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Call [phone].

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Photo:

(color) After the last show on Jan. 6, the observatory - which has stayed open most days and nights for free, as mandated in the Griffith trust - will close for a two-year, $66 million construction project slated to begin in spring.

Shane Michael Kidder/Staff Photographer

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HOLLYWOOD `STAR' TO GET MAKEOVER