Lick Observatory Old Dormitory Building
Rating
File Name
jcg_lick_observatory_015
Title
Lick Observatory Old Dormitory Building
Creator
Gordon , John C . (photographer)
Date
circa 1920
Description
View of the old dormitory with the "steep path of cleated boards , known as the 'chicken-walk, ' which leads from the road-way to the dormitory. " (From : David Pickering , "The Astronomical Fraternity of the World , part XIII " in Popular Astronomy , vol . 43 (1935) p.144.) Near the foot of the chicken walk is a small shed with a sign above the door that reads "Fire hose. " Visible behind the dormitory is the main building of the observatory .
Note
The Lick Observatory building was designed by architect S.E. Todd of Washington , DC , in the Italian Renaissance style with the use of deep entablatures and moldings , and a pediment over the west door. The construction of the Lick Observatory building began in January 1880 under the direction of Thomas Fraser , James Lick's agent. To level the top of Mount Hamilton , Fraser had the top thirty feet of the mountain removed with black powder explosives. Workers then moved , by hand , an estimated 40 thousand tons of rock they had loosened. Masons built a kiln next to a clay bed near the summit and fired the bricks for the building. All of the heavy materials for the dome and telescope mounting were hauled up the mountain by wagon team and lifted into place with simple mechanical aids. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/butowsky5/astro4b.htm
Subject-TGM
Dormitories Astronomical observatories
Subject-LCSH
Lick Observatory
Geographic Coverage
Mount Hamilton Range -- California
Object Type
Photographic prints
Format
Image/jpg
Relation-Is Part Of
Series I , Box 6 , Folder : Lick Observatory
Rights
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Collection
John C . Gordon Photograph Collection
Repository
San Jose State University Special Collections & Archives
Add tags for Lick Observatory Old Dormitory Building
Your comment:
Your Name:
...
