Ohio Wesleyan University Student Observatory

The Ohio Wesleyan University Student Observatory has stood in Delaware, Ohio since 1896, a brick landmark built for one of the university's own astronomy professors and now protected on the National Register of Historic Places.

About Ohio Wesleyan University Student Observatory

The building sits at 231 West William Street in Delaware, Ohio, constructed of local brick with wide-cut stone framing. It was designed for Professor Hiram Mills Perkins, who taught at Ohio Wesleyan University from 1873 to 1907.

History

Architect Sidney Rose Badgley designed the observatory in 1896. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 18, 1985, and was renovated by a student group in the 1980s. Its legacy continued into the following decades with the construction of a new Perkins Observatory between Delaware and Columbus in the 1920s.

Location & getting there

The observatory is located in Delaware, Ohio, on and near the Ohio Wesleyan University campus, within reach of Columbus for anyone touring the area's historic astronomy sites.

Visiting Ohio Wesleyan University Student Observatory

As a historic campus building, access may be limited to scheduled events; check with Ohio Wesleyan's physics and astronomy department before planning a visit.

See your named star from here

Professor Perkins' original observatory was built for exactly the kind of careful sky-watching that can locate a single named star by its coordinates. Name a star or browse the star catalogue to see stars already registered.