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tory was thoroughly appreciated. Locations in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains and in the Coast Range were carefully
considered. The Observatory possesses James Lick's letter,
dated June 15, 1876, certifying to the Trustees that the summit
of Mount Hamilton, in Santa Clara County, was the site
selected by him as the location for the Observatory. The
wisdom of his choice becomes more and more apparent with the
lapse of time. Land for the site was secured by grant of Congress (2030 acres), by grant of the Legislature of California
(320 acres), by gift of Mr. R. F. Morrow (40 acres), and by
purchase (189 acres), making the total area of the Reservation
about 2600 acres. By agreement with Mr. Lick, an exceptionally fine road to the summit of Mount Hamilton was built
by the County of Santa Clara in 1876, at an expense of
$78,000.
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The Observatory is due east from San Jose, thirteen miles in
a straight line, and twenty-seven miles by stage road.
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The completed Observatory was transferred to the Regents
of the University on June 1, 1888; and the scientific staff
entered upon its work on that date.
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The Observatory consists of a main building, containing
offices, computing rooms, library (of 5000 books and 4800
pamphlets), and the domes of the 36-inch Equatorial and the
12-inch Equatorial; of detached buildings to shelter the Crossley Reflector, the Meridian Circle, the Transit, the horizontal
Photoheliograph, the portable Equatorial, the Crocker and
Floyd Photographic Telescopes; of shops for the workmen; of
dwelling-houses for the astronomers, students, and employes;
and of other buildings, reservoirs, pumping stations, etc., to
meet the various requirements of life and work on the
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