7 minute read
Observatory
the sightly Knoll
Thousands have felt a sense of wonder at the Drake Municipal Observatory, whether they’re watching meteor showers or encountering ghosts.
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BY ELAINE IRVINE
The Drake Municipal Observatory is probably the only scientific facility of its kind more familiar to local golfers than local school kids. Since 1921, it’s sat between the green on the 17th hole of Waveland Golf Course and the tee of the 18th. It’s an anomalous presence among the fairways and the nearby tennis courts, like a relic of some alternative version of Des Moines.
The bluff-colored limestone building is now behind a chain-link fence, the gates of which only open to the public when the observatory is hosting lectures or other events. The exterior of the building shows signs of disrepair, from small dings in the copper plating of the dome caused by errant golf balls to the increasingly decrepit outdoor observation deck, which is now closed because it’s no longer safe to walk on. As night falls, it’s easy to see how the observatory got its reputation as one of the most haunted places in the city.
The decision to locate Drake’s observatory on the golf course was made by Daniel Morehouse, who taught astronomy at the university from 1900 until his death in 1941. A renowned astronomer, he gained an international reputation by discovering a comet while still in graduate school. During his life, Morehouse was involved in every aspect of the observatory. After his death, his devotion to it, and the fact his cremated remains are interred in the building, helped inspire many of the ghost stories that surround the observatory.
When Morehouse arrived at Drake in 1897 as a 21-year-old transfer student from a college in Minnesota, the university already had a small observatory. It was located in the tower atop the Science Hall which was completed in 1891, only 10 years after Drake’s founding.
Brittany Brooke Crow
The observatory was largely idle in its first few years, but by the time Morehouse enrolled it had a telescope that was state of the art for its day. Morehouse proved to be such an exceptional student while working on his bachelor’s degree, he was hired to teach physics and astronomy at Drake as soon as he graduated in 1900.
Morehouse balanced his teaching duties with graduate studies, first at the University of Chicago, where he earned his master’s. It was while working at Chicago’s observatory at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in September 1908, that Morehouse discovered a previously unidentified comet. He originally called it Comet C, but his colleagues renamed it Comet Morehouse, the name it still bears.
After completing his Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in 1914, Morehouse returned to Drake full time. In addition to teaching, he also served as Dean of Men. He proved such an able administrator he was appointed acting president in 1919 and given the job permanently in 1923. It was during his years as acting president Morehouse oversaw the construction of the Drake Municipal Observatory, his most lasting legacy at the university and in the city.
Even before Morehouse became acting president, Drake’s observatory atop Science Hall had become of limited use. It was always small, but at least it had a fairly clear view of the night sky. Or it did until the neighborhood around the university began to grow.
Decades before “light pollution” became a common term, it was a problem for Drake’s original observatory. As neighborhoods around the campus grew, there was more and more artificial light at night from homes and businesses. It made stars less visible both for families in their backyards staring up at the sky and for the astronomers at Drake.
And the problems went beyond the light and cramped space. Vibrations caused by passing streetcars rattling along their tracks interfered with some of the observatory’s delicate equipment.
The need for a new observatory was obvious to Morehouse. So was the best location for it.
Morehouse later told a colleague about walking in what was then Waveland Park shortly after graduating from Drake in 1900, and thinking
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“I didn’t know that this was here!” —everyone who stumbles upon the Drake Observatory.
Brittany Brooke Crow / Little Village
“the sightly knoll in the middle of that beautiful public park was the place for an astronomical observatory.”
The year after Morehouse took that walk, the city converted the park, including the sightly knoll, into a golf course. (That 1901 opening date gives Waveland a strong claim on being the oldest municipal golf course west of the Mississippi.)
Golfers puttering around didn’t make the site any less attractive. The knoll was the highest point of ground available in the city. Waveland was then at the western edge of development in Des Moines, away from lights and other problems. But it was only two miles from Drake’s campus, making it accessible for students and faculty. And the price for the plot of land couldn’t have been better. It was free.
Morehouse negotiated a “gentleman’s agreement” with Des Moines city government. The city would provide the land, build the observatory and maintain the exterior of the building. Drake would provide the astronomical instruments, the staff and offer educational public programming at the observatory. The building project cost the city approximately $53,000, the equivalent of $897,000 in today’s dollars.
The idea of public education programming appealed to Morehouse, who worked to make astronomy as accessible as possible. In an obituary published by the State Historical Society in 1941, one of Morehouse’s colleagues said he structured his lectures at Drake “in such a way as to fascinate students, avoiding the highly mathematical and theoretical aspects of the subject that would interest only specialists.”
Construction began in 1920, and the observatory opened the following year. Much has changed since then, as the city grew around Waveland, bringing with it the light pollution Moreland was trying to escape. But walking into the observatory is still the same experience it was in 1921.
On both sides of the public entrance the
the Hawkeye State has plenty of space, but what about outer space? these planetariums and observatories offer a glimpse of the cosmos from the comfort of an air-conditioned room—with expert educators to guide your journey.
Van Allen Observatory University of Iowa Department of Physics & Astronomy, 203 Van Allen Hall, 30 N Dubuque St, Iowa City, Check the Van Allen Observatories Facebook page for upcoming Public Observing Nights, free and open to all
Eastern Iowa Observatory and Learning
Center 1365 Ivanhoe Rd, Ely, Operated by Cedar Amateur Astronomers, a member of NASA’s Night Sky Network, Public events listed at cedar-astronomers.org/events, free and open to all
Norris Corson Family Planetarium Grout Museum of History and Science, 503 South St, Waterloo, Open to all, museum admission $3-6, Opened in 1956, renovated in 2021, Seats 33 and hosts 500 shows a year
Emil C. Miller Planetarium and Rooftop
Observatory Luther College’s Valder Hall of Science, 700 College Dr, Decorah, free and open to the public, built in 1964, seats 65
star theater Planetarium Science Center of Iowa, 401 W Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Des Moines, Open to all, center admission $11-13 (Closed Aug. 22-31)
Drake Municipal Observatory, Waveland Golf Course, 4898 Observatory Rd, Des Moines, operated jointly by Drake University and the City of Des Moines, hosts weekly Public Night Series in spring, summer and fall, free and open to all; celebrates its 101st anniversary in November
sanford Museum & Planetarium 117 E Willow St, Cherokee, Free and open to the public, Public programs every Sunday and Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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