Dedicated in 1891 at Brown University, your Ladd Observatory once ran timekeeping for Providence, Rhode Island. Dedicated in 1891, this observatory was primarily designed for student instruction and research and even ran a regional timekeeping service. From here the facility cared for and calibrated campus clocks, including one at Carrie Tower and another that rang the class bell at University Hall.
Meteorological observations were taken from the time the building opened using recording weather instruments. In addition to general astronomy courses, Ladd taught civil engineering topics such as geodesy, and nautical science subjects, including celestial navigation, were taught here during both the first and second world wars. In 1930 Ladd began a regular schedule of open nights for public viewing; that public program helped bring forth the Skyscrapers amateur astronomy society in 1932, a group that met regularly at Ladd, later acquiring the Seagrave Observatory in 1936.
Amateur astronomers from the Skyscrapers continued to volunteer at Ladd and took part in Brown University solar eclipse expeditions, and members constructed a Schmidt camera. Notice Carrie Tower, University Hall, and the campus spreading beyond them.