Observatory Project Wins a Round : Face lift: The aging Griffith Park facility needs work, and officials are encouraged by approval of a master plan. But getting the money is another matter entirely.

Fifty-five years after it was built, the Griffith Observatory is showing its age. The facility needs repairs, its technology is outdated, and it barely can accommodate the 1.7 million visitors it attracts each year.

In the Planetarium Theatre, for instance, where star patterns are projected onto a domed screen, “the moon jerks . . . and the planets aren’t where they’re supposed to be,” said Ed Krupp, director of the observatory since 1976. “Those millions of people have just worn the place out.”

But Krupp is optimistic that his Griffith Park facility may soon get a face lift. Los Angeles City officials this week unanimously approved an ambitious, multimillion-dollar master plan, the aim of which is to transform the aging tourist attraction into a state-of-the-art science education center.

The cost of the plan is astronomical, however, and getting the money to pay for the renovations it recommends may be difficult, Krupp and others said.

The estimated price tag ranges from $31 million to $59 million, depending on what parking improvements are made. The fate of the plan is largely contingent on garnering a $13-million share of a proposed $816-million bond measure for Los Angeles County parks and beaches, which county supervisors have yet to approve for the November ballot.

That $13 million may mean life or death for the aging observatory, Krupp and other observatory officials said this week. Without some renovation, they said, projectors and other equipment that already are dilapidated will soon break down.

“Speaking honestly, I don’t think we have much more than three years, maybe four” without making repairs, Krupp said. “I see signs now of having to shut down parts of the theater because the seats are breaking.”

The master plan, developed by a Los Angeles firm called Archiplan, contains three major phases. They are, in order of priority:

* Renovation. The Planetarium Theatre would be overhauled and re-configured, with a new dome screen, new seats and room for live orchestras or guest speakers. Officials said they hoped that they would be able to replace a 26-year-old electrical projector with a computerized, cutting-edge projection system that uses fiber optics. In addition, access to the observatory for visitors, particularly the handicapped, would be improved. Estimated cost: $9.3 million.

* Expansion. A 35,000-square-foot structure would be built under the observatory’s front lawn. It would house exhibits and provide space for education programs and a new dining and gift shop area. Estimated price: $14.3 million to $25 million, depending on excavation costs.

* Parking. The facility has 182 parking spaces, but needs at least 650 in the future, Archiplan designers said. Options for expanding parking might include building an underground parking structure or setting up a shuttle or rail system to take visitors through Griffith Park and up the hill to the observatory. Estimated cost: $7.5 million to $24.7 million.

Los Angeles Board of Recreation and Parks commissioners on Monday approved the plan, saying it was critical for the aging observatory. But they also expressed doubt about whether the funds could be raised.

“It’s sort of a ‘gasp’ reaction when you take a look at the numbers involved,” Commissioner Dean Pregerson said.

The County Board of Supervisors will vote by Aug. 10 on whether to send the Beaches, Wildlife and Park Land Conservation Act to voters in November, said Esther Feldman, a spokeswoman for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, the nonprofit agency that helped draft the measure.

Feldman told commissioners Monday that she believes three of five members of the County Board of Supervisors favor the measure and would vote to place it on the ballot.

A $13-million slice of the proposed bond measure would at least pay for necessary renovations. With that funding, observatory officials said, they could try to entice private foundations and the public to provide additional money for the new building and parking improvements, said Frank Catania, director of planning and development for the Department of Recreation and Parks.