The Griffith Observatory, a Los Angeles landmark featured in hundreds of movies and TV shows including Voyager's "Future's End," will re-open to the public on November 3 after nearly five years of renovation and expansion — and the addition of a new theater named after Leonard Nimoy.

The reopening date was announced Tuesday by L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city officials in an informal ceremony on the grounds of the Observatory on Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park.

The "Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater" makes up a major portion of the brand new underground extension of the facility. Located among the "Depths of Space" and "Edge of Space" exhibit areas, the 200-seat Nimoy Theater will be a multimedia venue for lectures, demonstrations, films, museum guide talks and other activities. Its inaugural program will be an 18-minute documentary narrated by Nimoy called "The Once and Future Griffith Observatory," which will run every half hour starting on Nov. 3.

Construction of the theater was principally funded by a $1 million contribution from Nimoy and his wife, Susan Bay-Nimoy, in 2001 (related story).

Another new program launching on the 3rd will be a planetarium show co-written by Andre Bormanis, staff writer on Enterprise and science consultant on Voyager and DS9. Titled "Centered in the Universe," the show will be presented in the renovated and newly-named Samuel Oschin Planetarium. Bormanis collaborated with Observatory director Dr. Ed C. Krupp and astronomical artist Don Dixon on the story, which "transports audiences from familiar constellations to cosmic destinations beyond everyday experience" with a live narrator.

Neither Nimoy nor Bormanis were present during the announcement on Tuesday, but are expected to attend the "Re-opening Galactic Gala" VIP event on Sunday, October 29. Plus, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned for the Nimoy Theater on Thursday, Nov. 2.

"The Observatory has been an icon here in Los Angeles for over 70 years. It was a world-class facility when it was first built in 1935, and it now is again in the 21st century," said Villaraigosa during his speech announcing the reopening date. "I remember coming here many times as a young boy and being awestruck by the limitless universe that we're a part of."

The mayor was admittedly giddy as he joined Dr. Krupp to lead the press on a tour of the expanded facility (which, except for the addition of new elevators, looks virtually the same on the outside as it has since 1935). "If this doesn't blow your socks off, you don't have socks!" Villaraigosa exclaimed as he led the group downstairs to the new underground museum. One of the principal features there is a 152-foot wide by 20-foot tall photomural depicting a million galaxies and other celestial objects in an actual swath of night sky about the size of the area your index finger would cover if you held it a foot from your eyes.

Villaraigosa and other city officials emphasized that for the first few months after reopening, timed-entry reservations will be required to visit the Observatory, and cars will not be allowed to drive up as in the past. This is necessary, they contend, to avoid gridlock on the hill due to anticipated overwhelming interest. Entry to the Observatory is still free (except for Planetarium shows), but shuttle rides will cost $8 for adults, $4 for children and seniors. Hikers and cyclists will avoid those fees, but still need to make reservations. Again, this measure is temporary, though open-ended.

Reservations can be made at www.GriffithObservatory.org. On that site there is also more information about the Nimoy Theater and the Planetarium show, located under the menu items "Building Features" and "Public Programs."

In "Future's End, Part I," the Griffith Observatory was the location of Rain Robinson's SETI lab, which Tom Paris and Tuvok visited to eliminate evidence of the U.S.S. Voyager's presence in 1996 (of course, in real life there is no such facility at Griffith). The actual scenes shot there were the exteriors of Paris and Tuvok's arrival in a "borrowed" pickup truck, then later when they leave and Robinson (Sarah Silverman) chases after them. Henry Starling's henchmen "Dunbar" then fires at them from the white Astronomers Monument with a phaser, vaporizing the pickup.

The most famous use of the Observatory as a filming location was in "Rebel Without a Cause" starring James Dean — who is memorialized on the grounds with a bust, in view of the Hollywood sign. In 1984, future governor Arnold Schwarzenegger materialized there, naked, in "The Terminator."