The Octagon at Amherst College

The Octagon at Amherst College is a historic building in Amherst, Massachusetts, that served as the campus's first combined natural history museum and observatory.

About The Octagon at Amherst College

The Octagon was built between 1847 and 1848 at the request of Edward Hitchcock, who was president of Amherst College starting in 1845. Hitchcock commissioned Henry A. Sykes to design the building, insisting on its unusual octagonal form, which was initially controversial.

History

The building paired a dome observatory with the Lawrence Observatory's tall spire and the Woods Cabinet's central octagon as linked structures, housing collections ranging from meteorites to animal specimens and fossils. Its exterior walls were stuccoed to resemble stone blocks. The Octagon is listed on the State Register of Historical Buildings and today is operated by Amherst College.

Location & getting there

The Octagon stands on the Amherst College campus in Amherst, Massachusetts, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts.

Visiting The Octagon at Amherst College

As a campus building, access may be tied to college events, tours, or opening hours; check with Amherst College directly before visiting to confirm what is currently open to the public.

See your named star from here

A 19th-century observatory built to hold both fossils and a telescope is a fitting place to picture a star's coordinates. If you've named a star, its RA/Dec can be traced from historic campus sites like this one - see the catalogue.