The Ladd Observatory was built in 1891 by Brown University, and features the original telescope over 130 years old. The telescope is one of only a handful of large refractor telescopes from that era. At the time of its construction, the observatory was located at the highest point in Providence (shifts in the city’s borders eventually caused this to be the city’s second-highest point.) The hilltop was a rural area with minimal light pollution. However, in the decades after the observatory was built, the area was built up into Providence’s…
