Hale Solar Laboratory
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Hale Solar Laboratory
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = Hale Solar Laboratory 2008.jpg
| caption = The Hale Solar Laboratory entrance, with a bas relief by Lee Lawrie of the sun and its rays over the door, Pasadena, California
| location = 740 Holladay Drive,
Pasadena, California
| coordinates = {{coord|34|7|58.63|N|118|7|14.23|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = USA Los Angeles Metropolitan Area#California#USA
| area = less than one acre
| built = {{start date|1923}}
| architect = Johnson, Kaufman & Coate
| architecture = Mission Revival—Spanish Colonial Revival
| designated_nrhp_type = December 20, 1989{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1953&ResourceType=Building|title=Hale Solar Laboratory|access-date=2007-10-17|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114222334/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1953&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=2007-11-14}}
| added = January 23, 1986{{NRISref|2007a}}
| refnum = 86000103
}}
The Hale Solar Laboratory is a historic astronomical observatory in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Built in 1923, it was the laboratory of astronomer George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), a pioneering figure in the development of the discipline of astrophysics in the United States. The building, a distinctive blend of Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
Description
The Hale Solar Laboratory is located in a residential area on private property south of the campus of the California Institute of Technology, on the east side of Holladay Road between Lombardy and Orlando Roads. It is set well back from the street, down a narrow tree-lined lane. It is a roughly T-shaped concrete structure, with a tile roof. The stem of the T consists of the telescope tower and Hale's library/office and living area, while the top portion of the T historically housed electrical and ventilation equipment. The main entrance is at the base of the tower, set in an arch above which is an incised bas-relief tribute to Akhenaten, the Egyptian pharaoh who worshipped the sun god Aten.
History
The observatory was designed by Reginald Davis Johnson (1882 - 1952), Gordon Kaufmann (1888–1949), and Roland Coate (1890-1958) and was completed in 1923.[https://digital.lib.washington.edu/architect/structures/6886/ Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Hale Solar Laboratory, Pasadena, CA] The site's landscape master plan and gardens were designed by Beatrix Farrand.
After retiring as director at the Mount Wilson Observatory, George Ellery Hale built the Hale Solar Laboratory as his office and workshop, pursuing his interest in the sun.{{cite web|url = http://www.mwoa.org/hale.html |title = George Ellery Hale |publisher = Mount Wilson Observatory Association |access-date = 2010-04-11 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090908004424/http://www.mwoa.org/hale.html |archive-date = 2009-09-08 }}{{cite web | url = http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/butowsky5/astro4a.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070714004637/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/butowsky5/astro4a.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = July 14, 2007 | title = Hale Solar Laboratory | work = Astronomy and Astrophysics | publisher = U.S. National Park Service | accessdate = 2010-04-11}} The observatory was where Hale refined the spectrohelioscope, making it possible to perform detailed observations of the surface of the Sun. Hale's other wide-ranging contributions to the sciences include the founding of the International Astronomical Union, the Astrophysical Journal, and instrumental contributions to the founding of the California Institute of Technology.
Landmark
The Hale Solar Laboratory was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.{{Cite journal|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Hale Solar Observatory|url={{NHLS url|id=86000103}} |format=pdf|date=May 1, 1989 |author=Harry Butowsky |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=86000103|title=Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 1926-1931.|photos=y}} {{small|(574 KB)}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070714004637/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/butowsky5/astro4a.htm National Park Service summary: Hale Solar Laboratory]
- [http://palomarskies.blogspot.com/2009/11/visit-to-hale-solar-laboratory.html Palomar Skies: "A Visit to the Hale Solar Laboratory"] - (2009 article)
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{Portal bar|California|Astronomy|Stars|Spaceflight|Outer space|Solar System|Education|Science}}
Category:Astronomical observatories in California
Category:Buildings and structures in Pasadena, California
Category:History of Los Angeles County, California
Category:National Historic Landmarks in California
Category:Mission Revival architecture in California
Category:Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California