Darling's Observatory, built from 1916–17, was a private

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

built by J. H. Darling in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. The site of the observatory was on West 3rd Sreet between 9th and 10th avenues in Duluth and sat about 325 feet above

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

(927 feet above sea level). Plans for the building were drawn by Richard E. Schmidt of Garden & Martin of Chicago. The blueprints for the steel dome were prepared by Darling himself after inspecting domes from various other observatories. The wooden building had a

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exterior finish. In 1965, the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota System. UMD offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 87 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a tw ...

(UMD) took possession of the observatory's Telescope, where it remains on display. In 1972, the building, which had been repeatedly vandalized, was demolished.

Telescopes

The observatory contained a 9-inch

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

made by William Gaertner & Company of

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. Soon after Darling placed the order, Gaertner & Co. replied that they were unable to obtain glass for the lens because of limited supplies during World War I. However, John A. Brashear

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manufacturer of some of the World's finest optical instruments, had on-hand a nine-inch objective, which Darling was able to obtain. The telescope was completed and set up in April 1917 at a cost at about $3,500. The Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium, located at the UMD, is now the home of Darling's Telescope.UMN.edu - Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium
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References

* "Private Observatory in Duluth," ''Popular Astronomy'', October 1917. {{DEFAULTSORT:Darlings Observatory 1917 establishments in Minnesota Astronomical observatories in Minnesota Defunct astronomical observatories Duluth, Minnesota

Telescopes

See also

References