Knightridge Observatory

 Today, we say farewell to a local landmark.  It is not a cemetery or involving a burial, but instead is a building. 

I can hear some of you saying, "But your blog is about cemeteries!"  Well, yes, but it is also about our history.  And this is one of those instances where our history is being destroyed.  So, please bear with me.

When someone mentions the Knightridge Observatory, they usually think of the Kirkwood Observatory located on the Indiana University campus.  It is accessible and well-known to students and most people who live in Bloomington or visit the area.  

Wikipedia

And, unfortunately, due to the current global situation, it is closed to the public indefinitely.  

You can read more about the observatory here.

But, this is not the one that we are talking about today.  

Just minutes ago, I read a headline in my local news feed. "OLD KNIGHTRIDGE OBSERVATORY DEMOLISHED".  As I took in the meaning of the words, I felt my heart skip a beat and a lump develop in my throat.  I had only been to the observatory once.  Well, been to it is a little misleading.  Actually, I parked across the road and took pictures from a safe, non-trespassing distance as the building was located on private property.  My pictures are not good quality.  They were taken with my old camera that did not have good zoom, so they are grainy.  But they were the only time that I got to see it in person.  

(C) Amber Reyes 2015

But now, it's gone.  It's nothing but a pile of rubble.  Pictures show tire tracks all around it, so it looks as if it was intentionally destroyed.  I know that the CBU recently also destroyed the old water treatment plant out of Griffy Lake, but this particular location was on private property and was not city owned.  

Why it had to be demolished is not stated in the article from the Bloomingtonian, though someone on Reddit is stating that a man went to town on the structure with a sledgehammer, claiming that the article stated this.  That is not true.  The article states nothing of the kind.  

A Little History:

The observatory was built in 1936-7 by Professor Wilbur A. Cogshall in what was then a remote part of Bloomington.  The professor had the observatory built for use by himself and his students and cared little for the aesthetic looks of it.  The outside was built of red brick with a wooden dome covered with sheet metal.   There was a slit in the dome to accommodate the telescope, which is said that he built, that was removed in 1960s and taken to the NJAA Observatory in Vorhees State Park, New Jersey.  

As Bloomington grew and made it's way closer and closer to the once remote location, the once delicate viewing instruments were no longer as effective and the observatory was closed.  This would have been sometime around the late 1950s to early 1960s, since the telescope was removed in the mid-1960s.  

Good-bye, Knightridge Observatory.  I am sad to see you go.