Chamberlin Observatory

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2024

1. Chamberlin Observatory Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by Dr. Edgar Everhart, Denver University - Department of Physics, 7/10/1979:
The Chamberlin Observatory is significant for its role in education and in the advance of science, and for its fine architectural features which display the adaptation of the Richardsonian Romanesque

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2024

2. Chamberlin Observatory Marker

The marker is on the right side of the south/front entrance.

style to an observatory.

The cornerstone was set in place in 1890, and the building became fully operational when the telescope was installed in 1894. Of particular note, both then and now, was the telescope itself. The lenses were prepared by one of the master craftsmen of nineteenth-century lensmaking, Alvan G. Clark, the son of Alvan Clark. The firm of Alvan Clark & Sons was one of the prominent enterprises that built optics for scientific instruments in the last half of the century.

The first director of the observatory was Dr. Howe of the University of Denver. As one of the designers of the structure, he required that the outer walls serve as supports for the revolving dome, but that the building itself had to be constructed separately from the deep piers that support the telescope so that building vibrations would not be transmitted to the instrumentation. He also desired thick walls to maintain a more constant average temperature so that varying conditions would not affect observation. He even demanded that all of the stones in the foundation of the telescope be of the same color to assure even heating and cooling.

The architect of the observatory was Robert S. Roeschlaub, one of Denver's foremost nineteenth century designers. Born in Munich, Germany in 1843, he later emigrated to Illinois and served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He began to practice architecture in Denver in 1875 and eventually became the city's primary institutional architect. He was the first licensed architect in Colorado and in 1891 served as the president of the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2024

3. Chamberlin Observatory Cornerstone

Presented to the University of Denver by H.B. Chamberlin. Erected A.D. 1890.

Excerpt: Chamberlin Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Denver. It is located in Denver, Colorado in Observatory Park. It is named for Humphrey B. Chamberlin, a Denver real estate magnate who pledged $50,000 in 1888 to build and equip the facility. It was modeled after the Goodsell Observatory at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

The 20-inch objective lens for the observatory's main refracting telescope was made by Alvan Clark & Sons, and the mount was built by George Nicholas Saegmuller. The mount rests on a cast iron pillar which is in turn supported by a massive stone pier. Assembly of the telescope was supervised by Professor Herbert Alonzo Howe. The telescope saw first light in 1894.

As of 2018, the Denver Astronomical Society hosts several public outreach events at the observatory every month. As it is located in a large metropolitan area, the observatory is heavily affected by light pollution, which limits its use in scientific research.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2024

4. Chamberlin Observatory

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2024

5. Chamberlin Observatory

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2024

6. Chamberlin Observatory

From the National Register Nomination:  The Chamberlin Observatory is a single detached structure that resembles the classical apsidal shape — only the south end is a full circle with no indentations. There are two “timid lateral wings” along the east-west axis of the building with the east wing having a slit along the roof and wall for various observations and the west wing having a front slope chimney. The main or south facade of the observatory has three bays: the main entrance under the great arch and the windows grouped in sets of two. The exterior wall material is cut, coursed, rusticated, red sandstone used in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The heavy imagery — stone, weight-bearing walls, generously rounded arches, rusticated banding in the stone — all reflect the institutional grandeur of the style, but here also had an important use as the walls had to support the twelve-ton dome and rollers. Approaching the main entrance from the south is a set of sandstone stairs about eighteen feet across the bottom. They are flanked by a solid, curved balustrade about three feet in height. The actual entrance to the building occurs through double-leafed, paneled doors situated behind a great Richardsonian arch that highlights this main facade.