In 1905, the Observatory building, which had been constructed in 1887, was enlarged. The addition is to the right in the photograph. The transit instrument was located in the wing to the left of the dome. The raised portion of the roof could be removed so that the transit instrument could be rotated on its entire North to South Axis. One of the two long windows marking this axis is barely visible below the roof of this wing.

In 1906, the Trustee Committee on Buildings and Grounds recommended that a room to be used for the dissection of cadavers be created in the attic of the Observatory. This was not done. Instead, the dissection room was put in the attic of the Chemical Laboratory. In 1908, the wooden structure of the College Inn had been constructed next to East College. This was replaced by a brick structure by 1915.

Astronomy Courses Taught in 1915

In 1915, William Cyrus Bartol was still Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, and three courses Astronomy courses were listed in the catalogue. Descriptive Astronomy was a sophomore course whose aim was “…to present in concise form a synopsis of astronomical knowledge to date.” Students had “free use of the ten-inch equatorial telescope” in General Astronomy, which was “…taught by text-book, with illustrations in the observatory.” Geodetic Astronomy was a senior course that had as prerequisites “…a course in Surveying and one in the Elements of Astronomy.” Students in this course used the transit and micrometer and practiced in the Observatory.

"...to present in..." CAT '15-'16, p. 73

"free use of..." ib.

"...a course in Surveying..." ib., p. 74

The major source for the information on this page is the Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, 1882-1920 (BT '82-'20). Additional sources are the Bucknell University Bulletin (Fourteenth Series, January 1915, No. 4) Catalogue 1914-1915 (CAT '14-'15) and the Bucknell Uinversity Bulletin (Fifteenth Series, January1916, No. 4) Catalog 1915-1916 (CAT '15-'16).