The University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis., plans to cease operations at the end of the month. I’m here to take one of the public tours — before my time runs out! 
“The Yerkes daytime tour programs end on Friday, September 28, 2018 until further notice.” astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes/
The details on this 1895 building are incredible.
Our tour guide, Yerkes Observatory employee Richard Dreiser, says: “At first they [U. of C.] didn’t use the word ‘closed,’ but it’s clear that we’re going to close on Oct. 1.”
A bust of Charles Tyson Yerkes, who was said to be the most hated man in Chicago during his 1890s heyday. But he gave the money to create this observatory. “I think he was tricked into paying for the building,” our tour guide says.
“These are Charles Tyron Yerkes —not a human but as a faun or satyr,” our guide says about these 256 faces on columns inside the observatory. “We think maybe it’s Charles Tyron Yerkes, but we can’t prove it.” A dozen faces on the exterior may be modeled after him too.
A pre-Nazi use of the swastika — as a symbol of the sun.
These faces with swollen noses originally had a wasp stringing the nose. It was rumored to represent U. of C. philanthropist John D. Rockefeller “getting stung” by U. of C. The bugs were chiseled off before Rockefeller visited.
“It remains the biggest-lensed telescope ever made.”
More views of Yerkes Observatory’s big telescope
Our guide says that some people thought this face was a caricature of U. of C. founding President William Rainey Harper, but he believes it’s actually architect Henry Ives Cobb.
A video view of the domed chamber with the telescope
As far as the future of the building, tour guide Richard Dreiser says, “The University of Chicago is not telling us what’s goingon … We’re not sure what’s going to happen. The University of Chicago is going to be *fffft* — out of here.”
But a local organization including Yerkes Observatory employees is trying to raise $100,000 to continue holding educational outreach programs at the site.
Yerkes Observatory, seen from the side that’s opposite from the parking lot
I presume this “Y” stands for Yerkes, but it’s reminiscent of the Chicago Municipal Device.
And this is neither a Chicago Star nor a Star of David — it’s a Masonic symbol.
Here’s a recent Milwaukee @journalsentinel article: Yerkes Observatory closing, but workers trying to preserve educational programs jsonl.in/2wCLqEO
“Four Yerkes staffers, who have created a nonprofit named Geneva Lake Astrophysics and STEAM (GLAS), are trying to raise $100,000 to sustain their work.”
“GLAS is independent of the Yerkes Future Foundation, and that has caused some confusion. The foundation is working with the University of Chicago on preservation of the observatory — the actual building.”
Here’s the website for GLAS, including information on how to donate: glaseducation.org/donate.html
And here’s the Facebook page for the Yerkes Future Foundation, which has an FAQ about what the two groups are doing: facebook.com/SaveYerkes/?hc…
Adding one more link: Here's the @chicagotribune story from July by @tgregoryreports that prompted my trip: U. of C.'s Yerkes Observatory has been a cherished icon for decades. Now it's for sale, and people are nervous chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-ye…
