Observatories

In 1844, ground was broken to establish the purpose-built observatory building on what is now called Observatory Hill. Located between Garden and Concord street in Cambridge, Massachuettes this location is 3,500 ft from Harvard Hall and the then main buildings and businesses around Harvard Yard. This was the tallest point near the University, far enough away from gas lanterns and other lights. 

The Observatory would be expanded with multiple buildings, and at different times, many telescopes and their small enclosures would cover the hill. This remains the home of the Harvard College Observatory and is the main campus of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. This is also the location of the Harvard Plate Stacks at 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

In early 1927, instruments shipped from Peru began to arrive, and by July, the site near Mazelspoort was chosen and acquired by Harvard. The instruments from Peru were reinstalled. With funds directed by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller from the Rockefeller Foundation, the new 60-inch Rockefeller reflector telescope was commissioned and installed.

Under the directorship of Donald Menzel, the Harvard College Observatory convened a committee to assess the Boyden Observatory's financial operations in the 1950s. Chaired by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the report would recomend and Menzel would begin shutting down the Observatory in 1953. Resistance to the closure would lead to Harvard providing holding-funds inorder for a reorganization to take place. In 1955, the Boyden Council was formed with international sponsorship from Harvard, Armagh Observatory (Northern Ireland, UK), Dunsink Observatory (Dublin, Ireland), and the governments of Belgium, West Germany, and Sweden.

In 1966, the rising anti-apartheid movement led to changes in the Boyden Council. Sweden withdrew its support, and on July 1, 1966, the Harvard College Observatory transferred its stake to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. On August 12, 1966, the Harvard Crimson published an article voicing calls for Harvard and the SAO to force the Boyden Observatory to remove apartheid policies. Peter D. Usher, a Harvard graduate student, reports that at the time, "There are no non-white astronomers at the Observatory and, to his knowledge, there have been no attempts to encourage non-white students to do research there. No non-white visitors are allowed to tour the observatory. Canteen and restroom facilities are segregated. Non-white, menial laborers are paid the traditionally low South African wage. In 1971, the West German government withdrew from the Boyden Council. In 1974, the SAO announced its full withdrawal by 1976. Though there were attempts by Allen Jarrett to find another country or institutional support, the Boyden Council would cease on June 30, 1976. The Boyden Observatory was fully transferred to the only remaining partner, the University of the Orange Free State, at the time a white-Afrikaans university. 1994 marked the first democratic elections in South Africa, and the University of the Free State remains the owner and operator of Boyden Observatory.