Seagrave Memorial Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in North Scituate, Rhode Island. It is named after astronomer Frank Evens Seagrave and is wholly owned and operated by Skyscrapers, Inc.[1] The main instrument is an 8¼-inch Alvan Clarkrefracting telescope[2] which was given to Frank Evens Seagrave for his 16th birthday in 1876, however the telescope took two years to build, so he did not receive it until 1878.[3] The telescope and Seagrave Observatory (as the private observatory was then known)[4] were originally at 119 Benefit Street in Providence.[3] At the time it was the third largest telescope in New England.[3] The telescope was moved to North Scituate in October 1914 when the construction of the current observatory was completed.[3][5] The observatory was acquired by the Skycrapers in 1936 after the death of Seagrave.[1]
^ abCormack, Maribelle; Laird, Harriet L; Null, Wilhelmina A; Reed, Constance H; Patton, Ralph C; Stevens, W Edwin (2005) [1957]. "How the Skyscrapers Acquired an Observatory and Other Property"(PDF). In Hendrickson, Jim (ed.). A Quarter Century Of Skyscraping: 1932 - 1957 (75th Anniversary ed.). North Scituate, Rhode Island: Skyscrapers, Inc. (Amateur Astronomical Society of Rhode Island). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
^Huestis, David A. (2007). "75 Years of Skyscrapers"(PDF). In Huestis, Tina; Hendrickson, Jim (eds.). 75 Years of Skyscrapers: 1932 - 2007. North Scituate, Rhode Island: Skyscrapers, Inc. (Amateur Astronomical Society of Rhode Island). Retrieved 7 January 2016.