History

The Darling Observatory

John Darling was from Michigan, and he earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan. He worked for the government for much of his life, and then retired to Duluth in 1913. For years before his retirement, Mr. Darling observed the night sky from his backyard, often inviting his neighbors over to observe with him. When his neighbors showed interest, he was inspired to give public addresses, illustrated with lantern views.

Upon his retirement, Mr. Darling decided to build an observatory in Duluth. In 1915, he received permission to use the land on West 3rd St. between 9th and 10th Avenues to build his observatory, provided he open it to the public, which, according to his memoirs "was entirely agreeable to me, as it was already my intention to share with others the pleasures and benefits which the larger telescope might afford."

The larger telescope that he wrote of is the nine-inch refracting telescope that now sits in the planetarium lobby. Originally, he ordered an eight inch lens from Gaertner & Co of Chicago; however they could not acquire the glass required because of World War I. John A. Brashear Co of Pittsburgh came forward with a nine inch lens they had made, and Darling was happy to buy a larger lens.

Construction began on the observatory in 1917, and took ten months to complete. The day the construction was completed was cloudy, but the next night, April 17, 1917, (Darling's 70th birthday), Darling pointed the telescope to the stars for the first time. The first object he observed was the planet Saturn and its rings. The observatory was featured in Popular Astronomy's October 1917 issue.

Darling opened the observatory to the public six evenings every month to groups of about 15 people. By 1920, over 3,000 visitors had come to the observatory! Darling gave a lanternslide presentation in the waiting room before letting people look through the telescope.

In 1925, Frank A. Halstead joined Darling in operating the observatory. Halstead firmly believed in UFO's, and gave presentations about them frequently. When Darling died in 1942, the observatory was given to the city of Duluth, and Halstead took over as curator.

Several years later the observatory closed its doors permanently due to a lack of interest and vandalism of the dome. The dome ended up in the junkyard (the current location of Canal Park), and the telescope was taken apart and lain to rest in the tunnel beneath UMD. Many years later, Eric Norland suggested to Don Jackson that the telescope be put on display in the planetarium lobby, which at the time was completely open and empty. Jackson liked the idea, and after pulling some strings the telescope found a good home on permanent display in the planetarium lobby.

The Planetarium

The Planetarium was built in 1965-1967 with a generous donation from Mr. Marshall William Alworth (1882-1980). It cost nearly $200,000. When it first opened, Don Jackson served as director. In 1967, Jackson began work to acquire a black Brashear telescope from John Novak, a watch shop owner from Escanaba, Michigan. After testing the telescope with the planetarium staff, he convinced UMD to buy the telescope for $950. The telescope is now on display at the planetarium by the entrance to the office. The telescope had previously been used in an observatory built into the Novak home in Escanaba, MI.

A 16-foot observatory dome was placed above the physics building in the year 1970. Inside of it was installed a 16 inch Cassegrain telescope built by Group 128. The telescope was remotely controlled by a hand paddle and had a rapid focuser, or fine focus knob combined together. It and the dome were removed from service in 1985, due to poor performance.

In 1975, the planetarium was renamed after its primary benefactor, Marshall W. Alworth. It was at about that same time, when Eric Norland, a U.M.D. art major first painted and installed astronomical black light panels on the planetarium walls. Jerry Beilike, who in 1986 copied them directly onto the concrete walls, later redid them. In 1979, Don Jackson retired from his position as planetarium director. Glenn Langhorst, an amateur astronomer and science graduate succeeded him from U.M.D.

In the late 1980's, Glenn Langhorst had the university install new seats and carpeting in the planetarium. The planetarium badly needed both renovations, as seats had broken while people were sitting in them (they were over 25 years old, after all). In 1990, a new roof was put on the planetarium. After the renovations were completed, the University completely rescinded funding for the planetarium. Since its early days both staff and students have run the planetarium and presented the night sky to students of all ages. The original star machine is still in use today.

The Future

It is very difficult to discourage astronomers; since they are patient enough to wait for a nice clear night to stargaze. After it's funding was rescinded by UMD, the planetarium didn't close it's doors, and has been seeing steady increases in attendance every year. Because it is still widely used, the planetarium has developed a need for some maintenance. The ring of lights around the edge of the dome are burning out at a pace of one or two bulbs every month. That doesn't sound like very many, but the bulbs are no longer manufactured and there are only five new ones left that are not yet in use. Many of the chairs in the planetarium are falling apart (as evidenced by the pile of chair fluff discovered by the planetarium staff after a show with small children). The electrical wiring in the planetarium is not compliant with modern fire codes.

After the basic needs are taken care of, it would be wonderful to update our technology to better serve the public. Imagine the projectors in the planetarium replaced with a full dome projector. The current star machine console is the original console that was installed when the planetarium was built in 1966; it could be replaced with a fully computerized star machine console.

There is hope for the planetarium: you can choose to donate to the planetarium. Our goal is to raise $150,000 for the projects we need done, and any donations beyond that would go towards updating the technology. A donation of $1,000 spread out over five years would be the equivalent of donating $3.84 every week.

To donate to the planetarium, contact Dr. Howard Mooers:
UMD Geological Sciences
229 HH
D175
1114 Kirby Dr
Duluth, MN 55812
Office Phone: +1 218-726-7239