Visiting the Yerkes Observatory

Visiting the Yerkes Observatory

Types of Tours, days and times, costs:

The Yerkes Observatory is open to the public for tours and even telescope observing on certain days and times of the week.  For information about most observatory tours, call 262-245-5555, ext. 880. For the "VIP" tours mentioned below, press ext. 810.  The Observatory address is 373 W Geneva St, Williams Bay, WI 53191.  Williams Bay is near the western end of beautiful Geneva Lake, about 8 miles north of the Wisconsin - Illinois state line and about 80 miles northwest of Chicago, IL.

The Observatory is open for tours on most Saturdays of the year from 9:45 am to about 1:30 pm (the Observatory is usually closed on the Saturdays closest to Christmas Day and New Year's Day).  Saturday tours are free, however your tour guide will ask for a $5 donation per visitor. Saturday tours last about 45 minutes.  Tours are conducted at 10:15 and 11:15 am, and 12:15 pm.  Families are welcomed and guests are invited to take all the pictures they like.  The tour content is geared for about ages 12 and up and includes general discussions about the history and architecture of the Gothic-Romanesque style building built between 1895 and 1897, general astronomy, optics and the operation of the 40-inch refracting telescope, 90-foot dome and 75-foot elevated floor.

The Observatory operates an interesting gift shop filled with books and booklets, DVDs, t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs and other fun items for adults and children at reasonable prices.

"Walk In Tours"  similar to the Saturday programs are available most weekdays from about 10:00 am to about 4:00 pm.  It is strongly advised that weekday visitors call before travelling to the Observatory to ensure a tour guide is available -- 262-245-5555 ext. 880 (or simply press 0 for the operator).   The walk in tours are a bit shorter than the Saturday tours, taking about 30 min.  There is a set charge of $25 for a party of up to 5 people, and $5 per person for larger parties.  A "party" is defined as a group of family members, a group of friends, or a combination of both. 

"VIP Tours" provide a more extensive, behind-the-scenes look at the architecture, history and operation of the Observatory, including a walk-through of areas of the building not normally seen by the public.  A knowledgeable Observatory historian will provide guests with an intimate look around the facility at a leisurely pace for enthusiasts of architecture, history, technology and engineering, astronomy, biography and general science.  Many photo opportunities are provided with the VIP experience.  The cost for the 90-minute program is $25 per person and the maximum number of total reservations allowed for each tour is eight guests.  Call 262-245-5555 ext. 810 for more information and to reserve space.  VIP tours are conducted at 2:00 and 4:00 pm on Saturdays, and 10:00 am and 12:00 Noon on Sundays.  Other days and times might be available, so please ask when contacting the Observatory for additional information.

"Night Observing Tours" are conducted on specific evenings most months of year.  Usually about eight or 10 nights are set aside for public viewing depending upon the instrument's availability. Be aware that the success of night time observing is always dependent upon weather conditions.  Up to eight participants can view six to eight celestial objects in the night sky with the aid of the Observatory's 24-inch reflecting telescope in the facility's north tower.  Reservations are required and the cost is $25 per person.  Call 262-245-5555, ext. 810 for more information and to make a reservation. 

The Yerkes Observatory can be an excellent venue for wedding ceremonies and certain types of corporate events and fund raisers.  Call 262-245-5555, ext. 810 for more information.

Visit the Observatory's website at http://astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes/ to learn more about Yerkes. 

Visit the night-time observing page here http://astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes/news.html for dates and times that have been set aside each month for viewing through the 24-inch reflector.  Observing dates are posted one month at a time, usually around the 20th of each month (i.e. dates for June are posted around May 20th, dates for July are posted around June 20th, etc.)

Introduction to the Yerkes Observatory Blog

The Yerkes Observatory Blog

Introduction:

My great passion in astronomy is the Yerkes Observatory, located in Williams Bay, WI built between 1895 and 1897 by Charles Yerkes of Chicago and New York, the great streetcar magnate, for the University of Chicago (U of C).  The Observatory is named for  Charles Yerkes and it's the home of the 40-inch refracting telescope -- the largest lens-type telescope in the world and the world's largest operating telescope from 1897 until 1908.  I live about 35 miles from the Observatory and have been a part-time tour guide there since 1994, and I am working on the manuscript of a book about the founding and early history of the Observatory. 

What this blog is about:

This blog will share some of the research I've done, interesting facts I've uncovered -- some that have been published and many that have not, and photographs I've collected at various institutions.  My sources include. but are not limited to, the University of Chicago Special Collections (several collections including the Yerkes Observatory and William Rainey Harper papers), the Caltech Archives (the George Ellery Hale papers), the Chicago History Museum, the Chicago Art Institute (mainly articles about Henry Ives Cobb, the Observatory's architect), the Case Western Reserve University archives (Warner and Swasey papers. builders of the iron telescope tube and mounting, the elevated floor and the 90-foot dome), the Anderson Library at UW- Whitewater (Chicago Daily Tribune articles) Lake Geneva (WI) public library (Lake Geneva Herald article), personal interviews and from reading dozens of books about 19th century history, architecture, personalities associated with Yerkes observatories, astronomer's and industrialist's biographies from the period, hundreds of newspaper articles and several doctoral theses devoted to all aspects of architectural, and engineering, design, economics of the times, social conditions, craftsmanship and many other topics.

I hope you enjoy reading my periodic posts and I hope you'll comment on what I'm writing.  Thanks for looking!

This first picture is well-known and often published the U of C archives -- it appears as the imprint on T-shirts and sweatshirts that are sold in the Yerkes gift shop.  It's a "cross section" look at the 90-foot diameter dome that houses the 40-inch refractor, a schematic of sorts that was drawn by Warner and Swasey (Cleveland, OH), the builders of the dome, the 40-inch telescope (the lenses were ground and polished by Alvan Clark and Sons of Cambridge, MA) and the builders of the 75-foot diameter elevated floor.  Click on it for a larger view.