Goldendale Observatory State Park Heritage Site – state parks quest #43

In 1964, four amateur astronomers in Vancouver, Washington, had an idea. They wanted to build a big telescope, just for fun, for use at nearby Clark College. Perhaps they were inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s May 25, 1961, speech before Congress, in which he announced that the United States would put an American on the moon before decade’s end. 

“This nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.”

John F. Kennedy, “The Decision to Go to the Moon”

Whatever their motivation, the four men, all retired—Don Conner, Mack McConnell, John Marshall, and Omer VanderVelden—had already built a smaller, 12-inch reflecting telescope, which they’d donated to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Invented by Isaac Newton in 1668, the reflecting telescope uses mirrors to create an enlarged image of the object under study. The measurement refers to the diameter of the primary mirror. Now the men wanted to build a significantly more powerful telescope with a 24.5-inch mirror.

Clark College gave them a $900 grant to buy a lens blank, and they spent several years grinding and polishing the mirrors. Over the six years it took to finish the telescope, the college contributed about $3000 to the effort, which resulted in a telescope valued at $50,000 (about $325,000 today).

The problem with Vancouver

The men had hoped to place the telescope at Clark College, where it would be used for education and research. But night visibility is affected by light pollution in the greater Portland metropolitan area, and by Vancouver’s weather, where the average cloud cover hovers around 50 percent for most months of the year. Optimal viewing required clearer, darker skies, preferably within reasonable driving distance of the college. 

Goldendale, a small town near the Columbia River in drier, clearer eastern Washington, fit the bill. The mayor and council were enthusiastic, and agreed to pursue funding to build an observatory on a hill north of town, at an elevation of 2,170 feet. The town would also implement rules to minimize light pollution to preserve the dark skies necessary for astronomical observation. Stakeholders formed the nonprofit, volunteer-led Goldendale Observatory Corporation to raise money. 

Dedicated—and closed

A combination of federal funding, grants, and a loan provided the means to build the telescope’s new home, which was dedicated in October 1973 and promptly shut down because there was no money left for operations.

The Goldendale Observatory Corporation continued to raise funds, and in 1975 hired a full-time director, who ran the facility as a public resource with classes, speakers, and research opportunities.

A solar eclipse

When it became known that the observatory was smack in the middle of the path of the February 1979 solar eclipse, word got out. Fifteen thousand people showed up to witness the astronomical phenomenon, and NBC set up there to broadcast the eclipse to a national television audience. 

Despite the national attention, consistent funding was still a problem, and the Goldendale Observatory Corporation sold the facility to Washington State Parks in 1981 for $100,000. State Parks has operated the observatory since that time.

Maintaining dark skies

Light pollution is a growing problem almost everywhere, and Goldendale is no exception. The New World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness shows a bright yellow dot at Goldendale, indicating light pollution prevents viewing the Milky Way in winter — an obvious problem for an astronomical observatory. Too much artificial light makes it harder to see stars, disrupts humans’ natural biorhythms, affects wildlife habitat and habits, and adds to global warming by using more energy to provide artificial light.

The International Dark-Sky Association works to raise awareness of and educate about light pollution, as well as promote solutions that keep the night sky visible. The organization certifies sites that meet its requirements as International Dark Sky Places, such as Death Valley and Glacier national parks. Goldendale Observatory briefly enjoyed such status, but the reporting and outreach requirements for maintaining it proved too onerous for State Parks’ limited staff and monetary resources. Nevertheless, State Parks maintains and operates Goldendale as a dark sky park, implementing IDA recommendations for shielded lighting, which involves directing light sources downward and focusing them on targeted areas, and discussing the issue in its programs.

Observatory Hill

A few weeks before the observatory fully reopened after the Covid closure, we visited for a daytime solar program. Prior reservations were required, and we arrived at the park around 11:30am only to learn that the gate didn’t open until 1:00pm. We turned around, drove a half-mile downhill to a gravel parking lot near a water reservoir tank, and explored the Observatory Hill trail system.

Although this is not part of the park, it’s worthwhile to include some hiking in your plans. The trails are easy, winding through open forest and, in spring, drifts of wildflowers. One vista opened to an in-your-face view of Mount Adams and the broad working fields below

At the appointed time, we returned to the gate, lining up with several other cars, and waited. And waited. At 1:35pm, a battered Volvo sped up to the entrance and a ranger hopped out, unlocked and opened the gate, and led our small parade up to the parking lot. With a 2:00pm telescope time, we had plenty of time to explore the observatory.

An expanded observatory

State Parks upgraded the telescope in 2016, and in 2018 launched a $5.8 million program to remodel the observatory. Reopened in late 2019, the expanded Goldendale Observatory is a striking wood and metal structure with rounded surfaces, dark paneling, and subtle, integrated shielded lighting on and around the facility.

Outside, the views extend for miles. Underfoot, metal discs representing the planets of our solar system are embedded in the walkway around the building. Astronomical equipment is artfully scattered around the grounds. A sundial uses the human body as the gnomon, which casts the shadow used to tell time. Mr. Adventure makes an excellent gnomon. 

Inside, a large classroom with tiered seating offers program space and interpretation under a star-speckled, dark blue ceiling. The restroom walls are colorfully tiled to represent nebulae and galaxies. The original telescope room was retained, and its midcentury pale bricks sport newspaper articles and information about the original telescope and its builders, including the original mirror lens. It’s really cool.

Solar program

Interpretive specialist Troy Carpenter is the face of the observatory, and he gave a brief orientation outside the building before inviting us inside. He’s clearly got the schtick down, rolling through a brief history of the facility and explaining the telescope’s inner workings. Carpenter noted that Goldendale had replaced its sulfur lights with dimmable LEDs (which are much brighter), and the city is supposed to coordinate dimming the lights with the observatory schedule.

Inside, we watched an informative program about the inner workings of the sun before filing into the telescope room. My notebook is filled with now-incomprehensible jottings like “pressure <==> gravity <==> mass <==> heat ==> fusion” and “sun contains 99.86% of all mass in our solar system, 0.14% Jupiter + Saturn.” I love the night sky, and I can pick out a few constellations, but I’m not even close to an amateur astronomer.

It didn’t matter, though. Everyone had the opportunity to climb the ladder and peer into the telescope’s eyepiece for a look at the sun. Little kids and grandparents and teenagers and middle-aged folks took their turn, coached by Troy on what they were looking at. For nearly a half-century, ordinary people have looked at their astronomical home turf through this amateur-built telescope. As Carl Sagan memorably said, we are all made of star stuff. Visiting Goldendale Observatory both reminds us of our origins and brings us closer to them.

Fast Facts about Goldendale Observatory State Park Heritage Site

• 5-acre day-use park, open year-round
• appointments necessary in some cases; check website
• Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
• camping and roofed accommodations, hookups, reservable online or by calling 888-CAMPOUT
• restrooms
• picnic tables
• hiking nearby on Observatory Hill
• park map

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Land Acknowledgment

Goldendale Observatory State Park occupies the traditional lands of the Yakama people, who have lived, traded, and travelled here since time immemorial. In 1855, the Yakama and thirteen area tribes signed a treaty with the United States government ceding 10 million acres of their homeland in return for a reservation of about 1.25 million acres and other rights. Although the terms of the treaty stipulated that the ceded lands could not be opened to white settlement for two years, territorial governor Isaac Stevens declared the lands open for settlement less than a month after signing and several years before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty. The Yakamas and other tribes went to war to oppose this betrayal until open hostilities ended in 1859, although disputes about encroachments on reservation land contained well into the twentieth century. Today the reservation and the Yakima Valley are home to the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, which has more than 30,000 members.

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