Vassar’s Historic Observatory Gets a $3.9-Million Makeover

Students posed with telescopes for this early photo of Vassar College’s observatory. (Images courtesy of R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects)

Vassar College’s historic observatory, constructed in 1864 for the first female astronomy professor in the United States, is in the midst of a $3.9-million renovation that will create offices and classrooms for the college’s education department. R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects planned the project.

The observatory, constructed of brick and adorned with pilasters, was designed to house not only the college’s 12-inch telescope but also the astronomy professor, Maria Mitchell, and her father. The observatory is located behind Vassar’s landmark Main Building, designed by James Renwick Jr. and completed in 1865.

According to a college news release, the renovation will convert the dome room into a multipurpose seminar space and will also make the building accessible for the first time to people who have difficulty with stairs. It will house 11 offices, including one for the college’s longtime historian, Elizabeth Daniels.

The plan for the lower level

The plan for the upper level

A section through the observatory

The telescope was removed in 1997.