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Property Location
| Location (Address) | 373 W Geneva St (formerly Observatory Dr) |
|---|---|
| County | Walworth |
| City/Village | Williams Bay |
| Township | |
| Unincorporated community | |
| Town | |
| Range | |
| Direction | |
| Section | |
| Quarter Section | |
| Quarter Quarter Section |
Property Features
| Year Built | 1895 |
|---|---|
| Additions | |
| Survey Date | 1985 |
| Historic Use | observatory/planetarium |
| Architectural Style | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System | |
| Wall Material | Brick |
| Architect | Henry Ives Cobb |
| Other Buildings On Site | |
| Demolished | No |
| Demolished Date | |
| Additional Comments | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. When completed in 1897, Yerkes Observatory was the world’s most modern observatory. Earlier observatories simply housed a telescope and an observer, but University of Chicago astronomer George Ellery Hale envisioned a facility that combined observational domes with a scientific laboratory containing mechanical, electronic, engineering, photography, and optics workshops, as well as a research library. This site was then distant enough from the lights of Chicago to assure dark skies but close enough to the city to be accessible to the university’s faculty and students. The observatory attracted the distinguished astronomers of North America. Here, Hale founded the field of astrophysics, Sherburne Burnham cataloged double stars, Frank Schlesinger pioneered measuring the distances of stars with astrophotography, and Gerard Peter Kuiper recorded important discoveries about the satellites ringing Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Cobb, a prominent Chicago architect, designed the palatial building from plans drawn by Hale, who had studied observatory designs in California and Germany. The long axis is anchored at one end by the great observatory dome and crossed near the opposite end by a shorter axis, whose extremities terminate in a smaller observatory tower and a domed meridian room. Exuberant terracotta enriches the brown brick walls to create the effect of stone construction. Drawing on a combination of Romanesque and Renaissance influences, Cobb produced a fantastic round-arched composition. At the center of the main axis is a projecting, arched entry portal. Round arches continue in the rhythm of windows, joined in sets of three, which span the length of the central axis and encircle the domed towers. Notice especially the riot of ornamentation: classical moldings, griffins, dolphins, scallop shells, owls, signs of the zodiac, celestial motifs, images from classical mythology, and caricatures of University of Chicago officials. The great dome, 90 feet in diameter, opens by moving on 26 wheels to reveal an 11-foot-wide aperture from which to explore the sky. Stainless steel replaced thin metal sheathing in 1975. The 40-inch refracting telescope, weighing 20 tons, is the largest of its type ever built. Mounted on a cast iron column atop a massive brick pier, it reaches 61 feet above ground level. The floor underneath the instrument can be raised within a range of 23 feet, allowing astronomers to adjust the telescope’s angle to view stars near their zenith. Warner and Swasey designed the dome’s structure and the telescope's housing, and Alvan G. Clark of Cambridge, Massachusetts, ground the lens. |
| Bibliographic References | Kohler, p. 29. NPS, Astronomy and Astrophysics, NHL Theme Study, p. 315. Walworth Times 7/2/1997. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
| National/State Register Listing Name | Not Listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date | |
| State Register Listing Date | |
| Contributing |
Architecture & History Inventory
The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.
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Email UsAttribution
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
Access Property Records
Some properties have more materials (correspondence, clippings, historical information, etc.) not in the digital record. If a 'Site File' exists, it's noted in the 'Additional Comments' field. Contact us for an appointment to view these materials.
Yerkes Observatory Telescope
1907
Text on front reads: "The 40-inch telescope of the University of Chicago Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The object-glass has a diameter of 40 inches, the tube is 63-feet long and weig...
Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago
1907
Text on front reads: "Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago at Williams Bay, Wisconsin." Founded in 1892 by astronomer George Ellery Hale and financed by Charles T. Yerkes. It was built i...
Chasing the Stars
Tuesday, May 07, 2024
A richly illustrated history of Wisconsin's astronomical innovations
Telescope at Yerkes Observatory
1910
The telescope inside the dome at Yerkes Observatory.
