Dearborn Observatory
Encyclopedia
The Dearborn Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University
. The observatory was originally constructed in 1888. In the summer of 1939, Dearborn Observatory had to be moved to make way for the construction of the Technological Institute
.
in the world. The lens had been commissioned by Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard, the chancellor of the University of Mississippi
(later president of Columbia University
), who hoped to found an observatory with the new lens. He commissioned the renowned firm of Alvan Clark & Sons
of Cambridge, Massachusetts
, to construct the lens. However, the American Civil War
began before the lens could be delivered to Mississippi
. The lens therefore remained in the Clark's shop in Cambridge, where it was eventually put up for sale.
The lens was initially intended for Harvard University
, but was bought instead by Chicago
an Thomas Hoyne
, a founding member of the Chicago Astronomical Society, for the sum of $11,187. The Chicago Astronomical Society intended the lens for the Old University of Chicago
(a precursor to the current University of Chicago
) and a tower was constructed on Cottage Grove Avenue around the lens. The structure was named the "Dearborn Observatory" in honor of Mary Ann Haven Dearborn, the deceased wife of J. Young Scammon, principal benefactor of the project. Construction of the observatory began in 1863, and the original Dearborn Observatory was completed two years later. The Observatory was managed by the Old University of Chicago for many years, however financial struggle caused U of C to declare bankruptcy in 1881, and the Chicago Astronomical Society had to do battle in the courts to successfully establish their title to the Dearborn instruments & library.
In 1887, the Chicago Astronomical Society signed a deal with Northwestern University
to bring the telescope to Evanston, and a new observatory was built on the Evanston campus to house the telescope. Funding for the project was provided by Astronomical Society member and Northwestern Trustee James B. Hobbs. The new observatory was designed by architectural firm Cobb and Frost
and constructed of limestone
in the Richardsonian Romanesque
style. The cornerstone for the building was laid on on June 21, 1888, and the dedication took place on June 19, 1889. The first director of the observatory at Northwestern was astronomer
George Washington Hough.
The close affiliation between Dearborn Observatory and the Chicago Astronomical Society continued until, following the Wall Street Crash of 1929
, the Society encountered financial hardship and found it too expensive to maintain the observatory and its equipment. On April 30, 1930, the Chicago Astronomical Society formally relinquished its title to the observatory to Northwestern University, on the condition that the Observatory be open to the public without cost. In 1911, Northwestern decided that the lens needed a more modern mounting, and the original tube and mount were removed. In 1929, these pieces were placed on permanent loan to the new Adler Planetarium
, and installed on the planetarium's exhibit floor. The 18.5" lens has remained at Northwestern. In the summer of 1939, the Dearborn Observatory building had to be moved 664 feet southeast to its present location to make way for the construction of the Technological Institute
. The latest addition to the observatory was a 38-foot aluminum dome, added in 1997. The telescope is still in active use today and the observatory is used for classroom space, offices and a library.
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. The observatory was originally constructed in 1888. In the summer of 1939, Dearborn Observatory had to be moved to make way for the construction of the Technological Institute
Technological Institute
The Technological Institute, more commonly known as "Tech", is a landmark building at Northwestern University built from 1940 to 1942.It is the main building for students and faculty in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. The school of engineering itself was called...
.
History
The history of the Dearborn Observatory coincides with the founding of the Chicago Astronomical Society in 1862. In 1863 the society heard of the construction of a 18.5" lens for a telescope, which made it, at the time, the largest refracting telescopeRefracting telescope
A refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
in the world. The lens had been commissioned by Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard, the chancellor of the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
(later president of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
), who hoped to found an observatory with the new lens. He commissioned the renowned firm of Alvan Clark & Sons
Alvan Clark & Sons
Alvan Clark & Sons was an American maker of optics that became famous for crafting lenses for some of the largest refracting telescopes of the 19th and early 20th centuries...
of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, to construct the lens. However, the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
began before the lens could be delivered to Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The lens therefore remained in the Clark's shop in Cambridge, where it was eventually put up for sale.
The lens was initially intended for Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, but was bought instead by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
an Thomas Hoyne
Thomas Hoyne
Thomas Hoyne was elected Mayor of Chicago in 1876, but his election was later declared null and void by a Circuit Court....
, a founding member of the Chicago Astronomical Society, for the sum of $11,187. The Chicago Astronomical Society intended the lens for the Old University of Chicago
Old University of Chicago
The University of Chicago, now known as the Old University of Chicago , was a school founded by Baptists in Chicago in 1857...
(a precursor to the current University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
) and a tower was constructed on Cottage Grove Avenue around the lens. The structure was named the "Dearborn Observatory" in honor of Mary Ann Haven Dearborn, the deceased wife of J. Young Scammon, principal benefactor of the project. Construction of the observatory began in 1863, and the original Dearborn Observatory was completed two years later. The Observatory was managed by the Old University of Chicago for many years, however financial struggle caused U of C to declare bankruptcy in 1881, and the Chicago Astronomical Society had to do battle in the courts to successfully establish their title to the Dearborn instruments & library.
In 1887, the Chicago Astronomical Society signed a deal with Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
to bring the telescope to Evanston, and a new observatory was built on the Evanston campus to house the telescope. Funding for the project was provided by Astronomical Society member and Northwestern Trustee James B. Hobbs. The new observatory was designed by architectural firm Cobb and Frost
Cobb and Frost
Cobb and Frost was an American architectural firm. Cobb and Frost was founded in Chicago, Illinois by Henry Ives Cobb and Charles Sumner Frost in 1882. The firm was dissolved in 1889 when Cobb began work on designing the Newberry Library...
and constructed of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
in the Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
style. The cornerstone for the building was laid on on June 21, 1888, and the dedication took place on June 19, 1889. The first director of the observatory at Northwestern was astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
George Washington Hough.
The close affiliation between Dearborn Observatory and the Chicago Astronomical Society continued until, following the Wall Street Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
, the Society encountered financial hardship and found it too expensive to maintain the observatory and its equipment. On April 30, 1930, the Chicago Astronomical Society formally relinquished its title to the observatory to Northwestern University, on the condition that the Observatory be open to the public without cost. In 1911, Northwestern decided that the lens needed a more modern mounting, and the original tube and mount were removed. In 1929, these pieces were placed on permanent loan to the new Adler Planetarium
Adler Planetarium
The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum in Chicago, Illinois was the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today. Adler was founded and built in 1930 by the philanthropist Max Adler, with the assistance of the first director of the planetarium, Philip Fox...
, and installed on the planetarium's exhibit floor. The 18.5" lens has remained at Northwestern. In the summer of 1939, the Dearborn Observatory building had to be moved 664 feet southeast to its present location to make way for the construction of the Technological Institute
Technological Institute
The Technological Institute, more commonly known as "Tech", is a landmark building at Northwestern University built from 1940 to 1942.It is the main building for students and faculty in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. The school of engineering itself was called...
. The latest addition to the observatory was a 38-foot aluminum dome, added in 1997. The telescope is still in active use today and the observatory is used for classroom space, offices and a library.