Los Angeles spoils us with all sorts of singular movie screening locations: on a cemetery lawn or the grounds of a Victorian village, not to mention inside intimate screening rooms and century-old movie palaces. Now there’s one more unexpected spot to add to that list: a mountaintop more than a mile above L.A.
Mount Wilson Observatory announced that it’ll be hosting a new movie series this summer, Matinees on the Mountain. On select Saturday afternoons, the historic institution will screen a decades-spanning lineup of sci-fi and astronomy-inspired shorts and feature-length films.
Unlike the San Gabriel Mountains site’s concert series and stargazing sessions, Matinees on the Mountain won’t take place inside the dome of the 100-inch telescope (pictured below)—the largest telescope in the world for much of the first half of the 20th century. Instead, screenings will take place inside the 256-seat auditorium inside the astronomical museum, the same venue used for the site’s Talks & Telescopes lectures.
As far as the movies, the lineup so far includes 2001: A Space Odyssey (May 17), a selection of sci-fi silent shorts (June 21), Contact (July 26), astronomical short films (Aug 23), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Sept 27) and a to-be-announced title (Oct 25). Some events are paired with a history talk or, in the case of Close Encounters, a performance by the Bob Baker Marionettes.
Given that the screenings are held during the day, you won’t be able to stargaze, but you will be able to stop by the Cosmic Cafe for a bite to eat, picnic on the grounds and explore the campus of the historic observatory (this is, after all, where Edwin Hubble proved that there’s more to the universe outside of our own Milky Way galaxy and that the universe is in fact expanding). Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for kids under 12, and support the Mount Wilson Institute’s preservation of the observatory—which butts right up against the burn scar from the Eaton Fire.
If you’ve never ventured atop Mount Wilson before, it’s worth noting that you’ll need to drive along a relatively narrow, winding mountain road. Angeles Crest Highway feels like a typical canyon road, but the final few miles of the drive along Red Box Road tout extremely sharp curves that hug right up against the mountain. Also, remember that you’ll be about 5,700 feet above sea level, and the main parking lots ($5) are a short walk from the theater. So pace yourself, and as far as outdoor adventuring goes, assume that the temperature might be a bit cooler and the sun stronger than whichever part of L.A. you’re departing from.