Oldest professional observatory in the United States, founded 1843, where a 1997 answering-machine anomaly is linked to the 1943 suicide of astronomer Smith on the anniversary of his death.
3489 Observatory Pl, Cincinnati, OH 45208
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Public programs and stargazing nights typically ticketed; daytime tours offered seasonally. Confirm pricing on cincinnatiobservatory.org.
Access
Limited Access
Hilltop site on Mount Lookout with stone-step approaches; two 19th-century observatory buildings on uneven ground.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1873 · Oldest Professional Observatory in the United States · 1845 Merz und Mahler Refractor · Samuel Hannaford Building · National Historic Landmark (1997) · Site of John Quincy Adams 1843 Address
The Cincinnati Observatory was founded in 1843 when astronomer Ormsby M. Mitchel led a citizen-subscription campaign to acquire what was then one of the largest telescopes in the world, the 1845 Merz und Mahler 11-inch refractor. The original cornerstone was laid on Mount Adams on November 9, 1843; former President John Quincy Adams presided over the ceremony, in what was his last major public address. Nicholas Longworth donated four acres for the original site.
In 1873 the observatory relocated to its current site on Mount Lookout, on land donated by John Kilgour, to escape Cincinnati's worsening urban air pollution. The new Mitchel Building was designed by Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford and houses the original 1845 Merz und Mahler refractor; the 1904 Herget Building, also a Hannaford design, was added to house a new 1904 Alvan Clark & Sons 16-inch refractor. The Mt. Lookout neighborhood takes its name from the observatory's relocation to the hilltop.
The observatory is the oldest professional observatory in the United States and the 1845 Merz und Mahler refractor may be the oldest continually used telescope in the world. The complex was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997. The observatory operated as part of the University of Cincinnati through the 20th century and is now an independent nonprofit science-education facility.
Among the observatory's 20th-century directors was Paul Herget, appointed in 1943. The earlier astronomer associated with the building's most-cited paranormal narrative is identified in local press only as 'Smith,' described by University of Cincinnati science writer Greg Hand as a professor who died by suicide at the telescope on September 29, 1943.
Sources
According to University of Cincinnati News Record reporting and the recollection of longtime UC science writer Greg Hand, the Cincinnati Observatory's primary paranormal account dates from a 1997 incident attached to a 1943 event. As recounted by Hand, an astronomer named Smith died by suicide at the observatory on September 29, 1943. Hand quoted his own description: 'He was in poor health and had just learned that his son was missing in action during World War II. Early on the morning of Sept. 29, he went to the Observatory and hung himself from the telescope.'
The 1997 anomaly involved Hand and a UC science writer attempting to contact an astronomer at the observatory by phone to schedule an interview. The two reportedly heard an unusual sound on the answering machine — what Hand described as 'someone shouting in a garbled voice, very far away.' They later discovered that the answering machine in question had been broken and removed from service before the call. The call had occurred on September 29 — the same date as Smith's 1943 death, exactly 54 years later.
Hand presents the incident not as proof of haunting but as one of the more striking unexplained experiences in his decades of campus reporting. The News Record has revisited the account multiple times in its Halloween-season coverage.
No other named entities are widely associated with the observatory in paranormal sources. The site's paranormal narrative is unusually narrow and unusually well-attributed: it rests on a single named witness (Hand), a single named historical figure (Smith), and a single anniversary date with an identifiable mechanical anomaly. The 1943 suicide should be treated with editorial care.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Guided tour of the 1873 Mitchel Building and 1904 Herget Building on Mount Lookout, including the 1845 Merz und Mahler 11-inch refractor (one of the oldest continually used telescopes in the world) and the 1904 Alvan Clark 16-inch refractor, followed by public-night stargazing through the historic instruments.
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