Elgin National Watch Company Observatory

The Elgin National Watch Company Observatory is a historic timekeeping building in Elgin, Illinois, built in 1910 to keep the nearby watch factory's production precisely on time.

About the Elgin National Watch Company Observatory

The two-story Classical Revival building, capped by a distinctive concrete domed octagon, was built two blocks from the Elgin National Watch Company's factory. Its job was to supply timing data accurate to a tenth of a second, using Riefler precision clocks together with a Warner & Swasey chronograph and celestial transit instrument, so the company could manufacture more accurate watches.

History

Timekeeping was central enough to the company's identity that it changed its motto to reflect the observatory's role. By 1950 the watch company could no longer compete with wristwatch manufacturers, and in 1960 the building was donated to the local School District U-46, which added a planetarium in 1963 - the first school-district planetarium in Illinois. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Location & getting there

The observatory stands in Elgin, Illinois, United States, at coordinates near 42.03°N, 88.27°W.

Visiting the Elgin National Watch Company Observatory

The building now operates as the School District U-46 Planetarium/Observatory; check the district's website for current public programme times before visiting.

See your named star from here

A building once built to measure time to a tenth of a second is a fitting place to think about precision - the same precision that pins a named star to its exact right ascension and declination. Browse the catalogue to name one, then find it from any observatory with a telescope.