October 13, 2026

In the last two weeks, rain has dampened some of the construction work, but concrete prep work is finally underway. Gravel is going in now in areas that are ready for it. Two areas of the basement will be saved for last to add in the gravel base. A new T fitting for the sewer line was found to be needed, as it was not up to current building code requirements and needed to be dug and set further down into the basement floor. Old clay sewer pipe was removed and new lines added. Electric conduit is being added to the floor of what will become the Archive Office, so that floor outlets can be hidden underneath the large worktable. Flexible lighting and electric solutions are needed for the worktable in order to safely and effectively process, conserve, and catalog the Observatory’s 30,000+ item collections. 

Rain keeps pushing back work on the repair of a minor main drain line collapse on the exterior front lawn of the building. As mentioned before, collapse of old clay pipes in a building this age is very common. We hope to have this work completed soon. We just need the weather and schedules to cooperate!

As with any major construction project, revisions were needed to be made to our architectural drawings after demolition was completed. Demolition opens up walls and areas that haven’t been seen in decades or longer. These revisions have been submitted and approved by the State so that we can move along with the needed structural repairs of our beloved National Landmark.

We look forward to having more “concrete” updates in a couple weeks!

(Photo credits: Mandy Askins)