People are also reading…
Photos: Crews descend on Yerkes Observatory to begin restoration
Yerkes restoration begins - 1
Scaffolding stands about five stories high outside the main dome at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, as construction crews begin masonry work on the 120-year-old landmark.
Yerkes restoration begins - 2
A chain link fence is erected around the perimeter of Yerkes Observatory in areas where construction contractors have started work on restoration of the former scientific center now owned by a private foundation.
Yerkes restoration begins - 3
A worker with Chicago-based Marion Restoration gestures from high atop Yerkes Observatory as crews get to work restoring bricks on the Williams Bay landmark, soon to be followed by repairs on the dome.
Yerkes restoration begins - 4
Yerkes Observatory is barely visible behind scaffolding erected on the west side of the former scientific research center, as construction crews get started on restoration of the building.
Yerkes restoration begins - 5
Dianna Colman, chairwoman of the private Yerkes Future Foundation, explains brick repair work that has construction crews checking every individual brick on the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay.
Yerkes restoration begins - 6
Bricks shown on the outside of Yerkes Observatory are being checked and repaired one at a time, in a project that is expected to continue more than a year on the 120-year-old Williams Bay landmark.
Yerkes restoration begins - 7
Workers are shown high above scaffolding outside Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, where restoration work on the former observatory has been planned by engineers who also worked on the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Yerkes restoration begins - 8
Standing in the library of Yerkes Observatory, Dianna Colman, chairwoman of the Yerkes Future Foundation, discusses restoration work getting started on the facility, donated to her private foundation this year by the University of Chicago.
Yerkes restoration begins - 9
Yerkes Observatory and most of the surrounding lakefront land officially become property of the nonprofit Yerkes Future Foundation on May 1, securing the iconic site with new local ownership heading into the future.
Yerkes restoration begins - 10
Bricks are piled up at the base of Yerkes Observatory as Chicago-based Marion Restoration restores the Williams Bay facility's brick structure by replacing decayed mortar with lime putty.
Yerkes restoration begins - 11
Construction workers shown high atop Yerkes Observatory plan to continue their brick work until winter weather sets in, then return next spring to complete the meticulous effort of restoring the Williams Bay landmark one brick at a time.
In photos: 100 years ago Einstein visited Yerkes Observatory and more Yerkes photos
Einstein visit
Famed mathematician Albert Einstein, seventh from left, appears in a photo dated May 6, 1921, with staff at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The facility has hosted scores of influential and groundbreaking researchers over its 123 years.
Williams Bay history - 23
An unidentified woman feeds ducks and chickens with Yerkes Observatory looming large in the background.
Williams Bay history - 16
Yerkes Observatory and the surrounding lakefront campus is shown in an aerial from the early 1900s.
Williams Bay history - 28
Edwin Brant Frost, a former Yerkes Observatory director who died in 1935, for whom the current Frost Park is named at the corner of Geneva and Congress streets.
E.E. Barnard Yerkes figure
E.E. Barnard is shown standing outside Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay in 1920, just a few years before his death. (Contributed photo/Regional News)
Watch now: A look inside Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay
Planning for the future
Members of the Yerkes Future Foundation find shade under a large maple tree on a portion of the 48-acre John Olmsted-designed grounds of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The 60,000-square-foot facility, home to three domes each with its own telescope, was constructed between 1894 and 1897.
Ornate design
Yerkes Future Foundation committee members Chuck Ebeling, left, and Frank Bonifacic, center, visit with Ed Struble, who has been the director of building and grounds at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. for nearly 30 years Wednesday, June 10, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Gathering in the rotunda
Yerkes Future Foundation committee members Chuck Ebeling, left, Dianna Colman, center, and Frank Bonifacic gather in the ornate lobby of the 1890’s-era Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
Historic library
Yerkes Future Foundation committee members Chuck Ebeling and Dianna Colman look over the library of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The facility is also home to laboratories, a machine shop and a vault that holds thousands of glass-plate images of stars, planets and distant solar systems.
Opening the roof
Ed Struble, who has been the director of building and grounds at Yerkes Obervatory for nearly 30 years, controls the dome's movable roof panels with an electric control switch at the 1890's-era research facility in Williams Bay, Wis. Wednesday, June 10, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
World's largest refracting telescope
Centered inside a 90-foot diameter dome, the 1890s-era refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay towers over visitors. The University of Chicago last month transferred ownership of the 123-year-old facility to the Yerkes Future Foundation, a preservation group that plans to restore, refurbish and reopen the historic research center.
Maneuverable by hand
Built in the 1890s, the world's largest refracting telescope is maneuvered by hand by Ed Struble, who has served for nearly 30 years as director of building and grounds at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay. The floor can also be raised and lowered to bring people closer to the eye piece.
Historic plate
One of tens of thousands of glass photograph plates captured by the 40-inch refracting telescope at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay is held by Dianna Colman, chairwoman of the Yerkes Future Foundation.
Rotating the dome
Ed Struble, who has been the director of building and grounds at Yerkes Obervatory for nearly 30 years, rotates the dome's movable roof with an electric control panel at the 1890's-era research facility in Williams Bay, Wis. Wednesday, June 10, 2020. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Viewer's angle
Built in the 1890's, the telescope at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis., seen Wednesday, June 10, 2020, is the largest refracting telescope in the world. Electrical components added in the 1960's are visible on the lower end of the 60-foot-long viewing tube. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Historic facade
In operation since 1897, ownership of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay was transferred last month from the University of Chicago to the Yerkes Future Foundation, which has plans to raise $20 million for its renovation and operations.
Elaborate entrance
Ornate stonework in the entrance of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. greets visitors Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Designed by architect Henry Ives Cobb and built on the shores of Lake Geneva in the 1890's, the research facility has been referred to as the birthplace of modern astrophysics. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Largest of three
The largest of three domes at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. shades visitors to the grounds of the research facility Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Recently, the University of Chicago transferred ownership of the 123-year-old building to the Yerkes Future Foundation, a preservation group that plans to restore, refurbish and reopen the historically-significant center. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Forty-eight acres on Lake Geneva
Members of the Yerkes Future Foundation explore the John Olmsted-designed grounds of the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis. Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Recently, the University of Chicago transferred ownership of the 123-year-old facility to the foundation, a preservation group that plans to restore, refurbish and reopen the research center. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
