Decaying Stars, Part 1 Abandoned Warner And Swasey Observatory ⭐🔭 -

In 1919, when East Cleveland was not a source of distracting ambient light, the Warner And Swasey Company gifted an observatory to the Astronomy department of the Case School of Applied Science.

Though they manufactured a variety of machinery and tools, Warner and Swasey was best known for its giant telescopes. An ultimately unprofitable technological passion project, many of their giant telescopes still operate across the country today. And their old factory, part of the “rust belt,” remains a relic of Cleveland’s important industrial past. It sits decaying, still, just 15 minutes away. {Of course, I checked it out.} The Case School of Applied Science, later the Case Institute of Technology and later still, the Case Western Reserve University, was the first college to offer computer engineering back in 1963. But the observatory had its telescope relocated to Arizona in 1950 because of the light pollution resulting from Cleveland’s growth and development. A new observatory would be constructed away from the light, next to the dark sky park I visited on my last trip to Ohio. Later, the dormant observatory in East Cleveland was purchased by a rich guy who wanted to make it into his luxury home, but it sits abandoned after he was jailed for fraud. (source)

And then! I came here straight from the airport, less than half an hour away. The first abandoned observatory stop on a trip that would have me seeing two abandoned astronomical observatories. And hopefully, some dark sky to see the stars myself. A three state excursion, socially distanced, a trial run for my larger trip in August… Well Hello, America, how you been?

How could I have missed this my last trip to Cleveland?! It was one of the coolest places I’ve explored… and I made it all the way to the top, emboldened by the sun. The sun that also messed up a ton of my exterior shots. Goodness gracious, great ball of fire.