Observatory Rotunda
Address60, Garden Street, Cambridge, MA, United States of America, 02138
Site Number665G
Building Root Number
04198
Architect (Original)
Isaiah Rogers
Building Acquired
1843
Constructed 1843
Constructed 1843
StatusActive
Site Name HistoryThe site is named after its function.Historical NotesThe Harvard College Observatory is a complex of buildings, in the Garden Street district of Cambridge, which forms a portion of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The Observatory was founded in 1839 with the appointment of William Cranch Bond as the Astronomical Observer to the University. The first telescope was installed in 1847.The Observatory Rotunda is the only remaining portion of the original 1843 construction on Observatory Hill. It was designed by architect Isaiah Rogers to replace a temporary observatory that had been on the same location. Renovations and expansions have greatly changed the appearance of the complex from its original nineteenth century design.
The building contains a historic 1847 15-inch telescope known as "The Great Refractor".
Additional Information
George R. Agassiz Memorial Room
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "The astronomical observatory, Cambridge, Mass." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-6ba8-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Bond, William Cranch. History and Description of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard. Cambridge, Mass., 1856. https://books.google.com/books?id=gENHAAAAcAAJ&dq=The%20astronomical%20observatory%20of%20Harvard%20University&pg=PP3#v=onepage&q=The%20astronomical%20observatory%20of%20Harvard%20University&f=false.
Mitchell, William. The Astronomical Observatory of Harvard University. Boston, 1851 https://books.google.com/books?id=UPU-AAAAYAAJ&dq=The%20astronomical%20observatory%20of%20Harvard%20University&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=The%20astronomical%20observatory%20of%20Harvard%20University&f=false.
"The Astrophotographic Building of the Harvard Observatory." Science, 25 March 1932, Vol. 75:1943, pp.328-329.
Baker, Daniel W. History of the Harvard College Observatory During the Period 1840-1890. Cambridge, Mass., 1890. Harvard University Archives call number HUF 165.490.6.
History of Observatory from 1839-ca.1900: Book of Facts, ca. 1900. Harvard University Archives call number UAV 630.400.
Harvard College Observatory. Harvard College Observatory : The First Century, a Review of the Past and a Preview of the Future. Cambridge, Mass., 1946. Available at multiple locations with various call numbers consult HOLLIS for details.
General Information By and About the Harvard College Observatory. Harvard University Archives call number HUF 165.2.
Hurlbut, Byron Satterlee. A Guide Book to the Grounds and Buildings of Harvard University. Cambridge: U, 1898. Print.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places February 26, 1987. National Register Information System ID: 86002075
This building has been designated by the University Planning Office as having a Notable Interior.
