There are few places in Wisconsin that can claim as many discoveries as the Yerkes Observatory near Lake Geneva. The Observatory is more than a century old and houses the world’s largest refracting telescope. But it’s more than just a place to study the stars. There’s art, architecture and sprawling gardens to enjoy there as well.
According to Walt Chadick, the director of programs and external affairs at Yerkes Observatory, the Observatory was the brainchild of a young professor of astrophysics named George Hale. He convinced the University of Chicago's president to acquire equipment and secured a blank check from Chicago tycoon Charles Yerkes to build the observatory.
"They needed to get away from the smoke of the factories, they needed to get away from the Industrial Revolution of Chicago and back then, Wisconsin, to Chicagoans, was like Alaska. And so they were chasing clear skies ... and they needed to get up on this little ridge overlooking Geneva Lake. And they built this architectural masterpiece that would become the world's first graduate PhD program for this new field of study, astrophysics." Chadick says.
The Observatory is home the world's largest refracting telescope, known as the Great Refractor inside one of the Observatory's domes.
"The refracting telescopes, these lens telescopes, are things of beauty, and the Great Refractor right here in southern Wisconsin is a 40-inch-diameter couplet of lenses with a 63-and-a-half-foot to 65-foot-long tube in this stunning dome. It is working and used, and we use it for public observation and private research, and it is a sight to behold," Chadick describes.
Countless discoveries have been been using the Great Refractor. The telescope has been used by the likes of Edwin, Hubble, Carl Sagan and Albert Einstein.
The Observatory offers a few different tour options but Chadwick says not to expect a dry, humorless lesson in space discovery.
"We're really obsessed with unexpected outcomes. What we are doing is a little performance, a little entertainment, a little education, some fantastic customer service and just trying to have people leave going, 'That's not what I expected and oh my God, that was so sweet,'" Chadick muses.
The Observatory also hosts open houses, the next of which is on Friday, Aug. 15 during the Perseids Meteor Shower. Telescopes will be available on the south lawn as well as presentations, food and educational activities.
Chadick says a visit or tour at the Observatory is worth it, even for those less interested in space. "We're not giving a tour of the universe, we're not traveling to Neptune and talking about, you know, the radial velocity of some stars 20,000 light years away. This is about human achievement," he explains.
A restoration effort has been underway at the Observatory since 2020. The Observatory has commissioned a team of architects, landscape designers, artisans, and crafts and trades people to refresh the building and the grounds.
The 50 acres the Observatory is on was designed by the son of famed landscape architect, Fredrick Law Olmsted. Chadick explains, "It was his oldest son, John Charles Olmsted, as the chief landscape designer and since then it sort of fell into disrepair and our landscape committee and our staff have blazed about four miles of trails, woodland trails, prairie trails, white pine forest trails, oak savanna trails, we've got five beehives ... making honey, we have rain runoff systems into these native species ravines."
If you're interested in taking in more of Lake Geneva's beauty, Amanda Weibel with Travel Wisconsin recommends taking a stroll on the Geneva Lake Short Path.
"This is a walking path that hugs the shoreline of the lake and takes you through the backyards of all the grand mansions that sit on the water. It runs for over 20 miles and each property owner puts their own spin on it, so some of the sections of the path are grass or dirt and others are concrete and brick, but it's just a stunning walking path," Weibel explains.
She also recommneds booking a tour of the Black Point Estate, which you can learn more about here in a report from WUWM's Eddie Morales.
Weibel notes that one thing that might surprise people about Lake Geneva is that it is the birthplace of the popular table top game, Dungeons and Dragons, which you can learn more about here in report from Lake Effect's, Joy Powers.
The Geneva Lake Museum has a new permanent exhibit that's called The Wizard of Lake Geneva that explores co-creator Gary Gygax's life and legacy. You could also visit Lake Geneva in the fall for the 3rd Annual Dragon Days Fantasy Festival, which celebrates fantasy gaming on Oct. 4-5.
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