Holden Observatory
"The Charles Demarest Holden Observatory" by Archimedes Russell , Original Building 1887; Renovation 2015
The Holden Observatory is the second oldest building on SU campus. At the time of its construction, the observatory was considered cutting-edge, with a state-of-the-art telescope and a rotating dome. Today, the first floor of the building is home to the Patricia Meyers Druger Astronomy Learning Center and provides a place for Astronomy students to do their lab work. The second floor includes an exhibition on the history of the observatory and the third floor includes the telescope and observation deck. The telescope is over 100 years old and was manufactured in 1895. The Holden Observatory is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The promotion of astronomy and the acquisition of a telescope was a goal from the earliest days of Syracuse University. It wasn’t until Erastus F. Holden, SU Trustee and prominent Syracuse merchant, provided the university with a generous gift to build and equip the observatory in 1886 that this goal became a reality. The observatory is named after and serves as a memorial to Holden’s son, Charles Demerest Holden, who had died in 1883. At the time of its construction, the observatory was considered a state-of-the-art facility and was hailed by a local newspaper as an “observatory of the first magnitude.” By the 1960s, however, the observatory fell into disuse. The technology housed in the observatory had become antiquated and Syracuse’s city lights made it harder to study the sky at night.
In 1991, the observatory was relocated 200 feet from its original location to make room for Eggers Hall. The relocation required twelve girders and eighty wheels to move the 320-ton structure at a rate of four inches an hour. The entire move took three days. To illustrate the great care that went into the procedure, the contractor placed a glass of water on a table in the observatory during each day of the move. Water never spilled out of the glass throughout the entire relocation.
In 2015, Marvin Druger, SU professor emeritus of biology and science education, made a generous donation in honor of his wife, Patricia Meyers Druger, to help refurbish the observatory. Patricia Meyers Drugger worked at SU as an administrator in the biology department and later in the writing program. She also attended SU for graduate school and earned a degree in mathematics. Patricia passed away in January of 2014. Marvin Druger wanted to memorialize Patricia’s life and her love for SU. Patricia Meyers Druger had been a lover of astronomy since her childhood and Marven knew that helping to restore the observatory would be what Patricia would have wanted. Druger’s donation helped restore the observatory to have a functional telescope and classroom, the Patricia Meyers Druger Astronomy Learning Center. Today, the Holden Observatory includes a photo of the Patricia and Marvin Druger alongside a plaque that reads “Marvin and Patricia Druger who loved, laughed and traveled together for 60 years.”
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