Vestal Street Observatory

Conservation Underway:

The Vestal Street Observatory will be the recipient of some much needed conservation and maintenance work over the next several years as the MMA spearheads a project to make repairs to spalling brick, mortar cracks and lintels that have shifted since it was built. Once the exterior is completed, work will be completed on the historic interior to conserve its original woodwork, windows, and the dome and pillar room. A new exhibit will be created in the 1908 pillar room. The work to the exterior of the building is made possible from a grant from the Community Preservation Act and Committee of Nantucket and the M. S. Worthington Foundation. 

2024 Update:

Vestal Street has seen a bevy of activity of late. In January, we began the renovation of the Vestal Street Observatory’s (MMO) Seminar Room addition – as it has been referred to since it was built in 1987. When it was created, the point was for it to serve as meeting, lecture, and work space on three floors for the Astronomy Department – in particular the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduate (NSF REU) interns we have each summer, visiting astronomers, and the astronomy staff. Believe it or not, it was the first time the Observatory had a bathroom! And, it connected to what we refer to as the Astronomer’s Cottage (ca. 1830 and purchased for the MMA in 1922) so that staff could move between the house and the Observatory without going outside – convenient!

With a gift from board member and Mitchell family descendant, Richard Wolfe, we have been able to renovate this space, bringing it up to date and adding HVAC, an accessible bathroom and kitchenette, three office spaces, a seminar/meeting area, and space for intern workspaces. Lighting and interiors are being improved as this is written and we hope to have the space ready by June 1, 2024. A special thank you goes to John Wise, another Board member, who has been working with the MMA to make sure this renovation happens in a short timeframe.

The work here dovetails nicely with the conservation of the historic observatory to which the Seminar Room is connected. The historic MMO, built in 1908 with a 1922 addition, has seen exterior conservation work over the last several years with support from the Community Preservation Act and the M. S. Worthington Foundation. 

This fall, we will move inside with more grant funding which will allow us to conserve the historic interiors and install a proper HVAC system to protect the historic fabric and historic astronomical equipment and papers. We will restore the floor in the Astronomical Study from 1922 – it’s hidden under wall-to-wall carpet and 1950s tile but it’s still there – and conserve the historic plaster and all of the original varnished woodwork.