Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • Jan 23, 2023

Jan. 11th {1858}. . . . All the early observatories of Europe seem to have been built as temples to Urania, and not as working chamber of science. The Royal Observatory of Greenwich, and the Imperial Observatory of Paris, and the beautiful structure in Calton Hill, Edinburgh, were, at first, wholly useless as Observatories. That of Greenwich had no steadiness, while every pillar in the astronomical temple of Edinburgh, though it may tell of the enlightenment of Greece, hides the light of the stars from the Scottish observer. Well might Struve say that “an observatory should be a simple box to hold instruments.”


Ironically, Maria’s thoughts above would come true for her – the Vassar College Observatory was not built or equipped in the way she would have liked though it was begun before she had agreed to become its director and the professor of astronomy at Vassar. But its important to recognize that sometimes someone can be so caught up in the appearance of something and leaving her or his mark that they don’t take into account how something is really going to be utilized and by whom. So it appears that when built, according to Maria, that these sites were built to be “temples” and to stand out for their beauty, not to stand out for the activity that would happen inside them – and not to be designed with that activity in mind. That is why you need a diverse group to make sure a site is created that is usable – for all.


JNLF 

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Yes. Well, almost. After about a month of working – and some living (staff and or neighbors) – on Vestal Street with all the sewer and water replacement work, the paving happened today (April 17, 2024). This is the first “layer” – a three-inch binder coat. In the fall, once time has passed, they will return for the final one inch of the finish layer. Some of the other things along Vestal Street will also be repaired and updated between now and the final coat – and a bit after that. But we are very happy, after all these years to have a modern system of piping – and all new drainage we never had before! While the curator in me loved the old clay pipes, they were riddled with roots from the trees, holes, and in some places, collapsed, and the twelve inches of asphalt had to go. Vestal Street was only paved in about 1946/1948 – and has not been paved in maybe twenty years so that is a lot of asphalt in about fifty years! And with climate change and the increase in how much rain we get in these heavy rain events, all that water rushed down Vestal Street with nowhere to go – except our cellars. I am sure the neighbors are happy too! A thank you to the Town of Nantucket’s Sewer Department, especially David Gray (who may regret giving me his cellphone number forever), N&M Excavating and Utilities (Dean, we appreciate you being so nice when we had too many questions), Victor-Brandon Corp for paving, and numerous others. We are looking forward to great flushing, powerful hose lines, and rainwater being whisked away via the new, never-before-had storm drains! JNLF And to all the N&M workers who wondered why I was constantly looking down as I walked along Vestal Street, you should see the trove of porcelain shards, glass, old nails, a bottle neck, 19 th century spoon, and even possibly a Wampanoag stone tool I found!
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