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U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C. – Historic Reproduction

U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C., c1904. — historic photograph
U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C., c1904.. Historic photograph from the Washington DC collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This historic photograph of U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C. brings a moment of history to your wall. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C.

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The U.S. Naval Observatory was established in Washington, D.C., in 1844 and moved to its hilltop grounds on Massachusetts Avenue in 1893, where its large telescopes and timekeeping instruments were housed in the early 1900s. This c1904 print, copyrighted by the photographer Waldon Fawcett, belongs to a group of pictures that documented the capital's government institutions and scientific work at the turn of the century. Fawcett was a prolific writer and photographer of the period, and his images often pair a building with the instruments or activity inside it. The observatory was the nation's official source for astronomical data and standard time, so the scene reflects a working scientific site as much as a federal landmark.

Created / publishedc1904.
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1900-1910.
NotesCopyright by Waldon Fawcett.
SubjectsUnited States Naval Observatory--Washington (D.C.)--1900-1910. Astronomy--Washington (D.C.)--1900-1910. Telescopes--Washington (D.C.)--1900-1910.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,161 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-162994

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