History of Holcomb Observatory and
Planetarium
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James Irving Holcomb (right)
standing next to the optical tube assembly just before it was hoisted into
the dome of the observatory.
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When Butler
University was located in Irvington
on the east side of Indianapolis,
Joseph I. Irwin, a member of the Butler
University board of trustees from Columbus,
IN, gave the university its first
observatory. It was a small round building made of sheet metal with a dome and
an opening in which the 6-inch refracting telescope could be placed while being
used.
After Butler University
was moved to the north side if Indianapolis
in 1928, the telescope was dismantled and stored, and the Irvington
observatory was torn down. In the 1930s the telescope was repaired and
remounted by Will Irwin, the son of Joseph I. Irwin and a
also member of the board of trustees. However, during the World War II courses
in astronomy were discontinued and the telescope was not used until October of
1945 when the Math club had the privilege of using it.
In April of 1953, Indianapolis
industrialist and vice president of the Butler
board of trustees James Irving Holcomb and his wife,
gave $250,000 to the university for the construction of an observatory as a
gift for the university's centennial celebration. The observatory was intended
for public use and student learning. Initially the observatory was supposed to
house a 24-inch telescope valued at $30,000 in 1953 dollars, but in October of
1953 a larger 38-inch mirror was available and Holcomb jumped at the chance to
have the largest telescope in the state of Indiana
and the ninth largest in the United States.
This raised the cost of the telescope to $48,500 and the total project cost to
$325,000. In October of 1954 the telescope was installed by J.W. Fecker, Inc. The telescope and assemblage was shipped to Indianapolis
from Pittsburgh by truck.
Installation of the telescope in the 50 foot high dome was done by crane (even today a crane must be used to get the 600 pound
mirror from the dome to ground level for resurfacing every five years).
Governor George N. Craig delivered the dedicatory address and Charles F.
Kettering, vice president and director of General Motors Corporation, spoke at
the dedication dinner on November 5th
1954, The observatory was placed on a high
knoll on the north end of the Butler
academic campus, adjacent to the woods of the Holcomb
Gardens. The observatory is visible
from 38th street and to
motorist driving northward on Clarendon Road.
In addition to the telescope, the observatory has a lobby, clock room, class
room, and planetarium. The lobby is considered by designers as the
"showplace" of the building. This is a 14 foot replica of the zodiac
done in brilliantly colored terrazzo on the floor. Ceiling spotlights emphasize
the design and colors. A cantilever stairway, also bearing zodiac and planet
signs in iron, winds upward to the dome and telescope. Along the stairway and
on the landings are 20 lighted cases containing images from telescopes and
spacecraft. The planetarium is both a laboratory and theater, used to
examine the motion of celestial objects and learn the location and motions of
these objects. The entire celestial sphere can be projected, making it look as
if you were outside far away from the light pollution of Indianapolis.
The day or night sky can be presented, and we can accelerate time and motions
of celestial objects to view the past or future. The planetarium equipment consist of Spitz A3P projector which was installed in 1981
and can seat 60 visitors. The projector is controlled by the operator at the
north end of the planetarium. The planetarium has many special features and
audio visual equipment that make an evening at the planetarium entertaining as
well as educational for people of all ages.
Here are some other pictures from the construction of the
observatory.
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This picture shows the
support structure for the telescope pier Note
the highlighted region where the pier will sit. This structure does not
come in contact with the rest of the building so that vibration of the
telescope is minimized.
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This picture shows the dome
just before completion. The original dome was made of wood. After
several decades of Indiana weather the dome was replaced with the current
aluminum dome.
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