Little known facts.
Bill Laliberte, longtime docent at the Portland Observatory Museum, compiled the information below in response to frequently asked questions by visitors to the Observatory. For more, download the full PDF below, which includes collected illustrations and photographs.
The Observatory gets its strength from the excellence of its design and the skill of its builders. An article in The Maine Catalog, published by the Maine State Museum, records most of the details:
- The basic size and shape: an octagonal tower, rising to a height of roughly sixty-five feet (65).
- Its diameter at the base is thirty-two feet (32) and it tapers to fifteen feet (15) at the top.
- The tower is surmounted by an open three-foot (3) deck and an enclosed lantern eight feet (8) across.
Captain Lemuel Moody was both architect and supervisor of construction of the Observatory. There are records stating that he drew six sketches for the framing and discarded all but one. None of these sketches survive – only the building itself. (Source: John K. Moulton, Captain Moody and His Observatory)
During construction of the Observatory, men were paid $2.00 per day and boys were paid 50 cents per day. The land for the Observatory was purchased in March and the Observatory opened in September, 1807.
In 1807, the Observatory cost $5,000 to build. This equals $92,563.39 2007 dollars! (source: Measuring Worth)
The three flag poles are made of mahogany (information from Julie Larry, of TTL Architects, the architects who restored the Observatory in 1998-2000)
During the 1998-2000 restoration, painting analysis revealed that the compass rose on the lantern ceiling had been repainted at one time. Because the rose in place at the time of the restoration contained lead paint, an identical reproduction, without lead, was installed in its place.
Three flags are flown from the flag staffs whenever the Observatory is open: the United States flag, the Maine state flag and the Portland city flag.