What's Up With The Abandoned Observatory In East Cleveland?

EAST CLEVELAND, OH — Off North Taylor Road, on a hill overlooking the street, there's a hulking building, covered in spray paint and memories, and it looms and glares at passerby.

The Warner and Swasey Observatory has been abandoned for decades. What was once its sidewalk is now spotty blocks of concrete reclaimed by the grass. Its facade is covered in moss, though a placard above the door reading "Case School of Applied Science" is still visible.

Inside, based on recent photos shared on social media, little remains of what was once Cleveland's shortcut to the stars. The ceiling is tattered and drywall hangs limply from the building's frame. Cheap wood blocks many of the windows. Graffiti artists have tagged nearly every nook and cranny within.

The observatory wasn't always a tragic ode to obsolescence and progress. It opened in 1920, according to the Cleveland Historical Society. By 1941, it received a new 24-inch telescope and took part in groundbreaking scientific studies of the cosmos. In the 1950s, the observatory was considered one of the finest places in the U.S. for Americans to view the night sky.

But halcyon days were not meant to last.

As Cleveland grew, so too did its light pollution, obscuring the once-clear stars. Warner and Swasey Observatory lost its scientific value and failed to pull audiences. By 1980, the observatory was shuttered for good.

It has remained closed in the intervening decades, though its owners have shifted during that time. In 2011, the City of East Cleveland purchased the property as part of a land re-utilization program.

There are currently no plans to revitalize or transform the site, said Melran Leach, East Cleveland's community development director.

However, if you're feeling nostalgic, know that part of the Warner and Swasey Observatory lives on. The building's original refractory telescope is now atop the Albert W. Smith building on Case Western Reserve University's campus, a school spokesperson said.