Ladd Observatory

Ladd Observatory is an astronomical observatory at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1891 it was primarily designed for student instruction and also research. The facility operated a regional timekeeping service. It was responsible for the care and calibration of clocks on campus including one at Carrie Tower and another that rang the class bell at University Hall. Meteorological observations were made there from the time the building opened using recording weather instruments.

In addition to general astronomy courses it was also used for teaching civil engineering topics such as geodesy. Nautical science subjects, including celestial navigation, were taught there during the First World War.

Ladd began a regular schedule of open nights for public viewing in 1930. This led to the creation of the Skyscrapers amateur astronomy society in 1932 which regularly met at Ladd. The Skyscrapers then acquired the Seagrave Observatory in 1936 which was then used as a meeting place. Amateur astronomers from the group continued to volunteer at Ladd and also participated in Brown University solar eclipse expeditions. Members constructed a Schmidt camera for the 1937 Brown eclipse expedition.

Ladd was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. It continues to be used by the Department of Physics at Brown for astronomy instruction. It is regularly open to the public as a science center and technology museum.