Holden Observatory
Building Announced: Fall, 1886
Construction Completed: September, 1887
Dedicated: November 18, 1887
Materials: Onondaga Limestone
Architect: Archimedes Russell
Style: 30 foot tower
Notes:
The observatory was the second building on campus and was designed by Archimedes Russell. Interest in astronomy existed at the University since its beginning, and in 1886 Erastus F. Holden notified Chancellor Sims that he was willing to build and equip an observatory. Mr. Holden was the first Vice-President of the Board of Trustees and a prominent Syracuse merchant. The observatory was named in memory of his son, Charles Demerest Holden, a graduate of the S.U. class of 1877 who died in 1883.
Soon after the observatory was completed there was a plan to move it to the top of Mt. Olympus, but it was never realized. (Syracusan 5:7, May 1913, p. 10)
On June 27, 1991 workers used 12 girders and 80 wheels to move the 320-ton Holden Observatory from its original spot to one 190 feet to the southwest. The move was ordered to make room for Eggers Hall, the 20 million dollar expansion to the Maxwell School.
The $200,000 move was conducted by L.D. Dexheimer & Son of Guilford. The building was moved 190 feet to the west and 60 feet to the south at the rate of 4 inches an hour in an effort that lasted three days. Because the Observatory is a national landmark, the greatest care was taken to ensure its structural integrity.
