Economy | Page 202 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 31, 2017 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Timeline Tuesday … 1850s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1850s Kuleana Act, Smallpox Epidemic, death of Kamehameha III and growth in rice cultivation. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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January 30, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Whaley

“Getting the stuff into port was a good deal like the true, sportsman shooting domestic chickens when he had been brought up to go after game. The sport was left for the men who handled it here, men on the interisland steamers and men around the plantations, for there is where it was sold.”

“The Chinese had to have it, and twenty years ago managers of the sugar estates would end down to the city to get it for them. One time, a good many years ago, the story is told of an official who came in contact with opium in two ways. …”

“In one way he came against opium dealers as an administrative officer. And he would cinch a fellow tight enough if it suited him. Another way he came against opium handlers was in the role of purchaser. He played the game both ways and waxed rich.”

‘”There was a lot of money in it in the old days. … and there was fun and excitement in dodging the officers.’” (Unidentified former opium smuggler) (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 19, 1909)

“There was a ring in San Francisco in those days with connecting links in the Sound cities and Victoria. The old Driard House was headquarters for the party in Victoria and Will Whaley was the acknowledged head of that branch.”

“It was only forty miles across the water to the United States and sixty miles would bring the men who did the rough work to a safe harbor on the Yankee side.”

“Chinese constituted the most profitable contraband because the price, in those days, warranted the risk. Fifty dollars a head to land them on the beach during the night, and the money in hand before leaving hospitable British soil, and it was an easy matter to run twenty or even thirty across in a night and get back safely.”

“The same men who engaged in handling the Chinese were in the business of shipping opium. Whaley had his own schooner, the Halcyon, a ‘long low rakish craft’ built to sail with the wind or beat against it, and she could make steamer time if the wind was at all fair. She came to these waters on several occasions and was suspected of having opium as her cargo.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 19, 1909)

“(William A) Whaley managed to keep out of harm’s way but was continuously under suspicion.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 19, 1909)

“(L)inked with that of the famous yacht Halcyon, (he) was formerly a custom house employee, and hence knew all the ‘ropes’ in the workings of the force, but this very knowledge has made him fight shy of San Francisco and seek other fields for his gigantic deals in contraband opium.” (Californian, 1893)

“Halcyon, is one of the trimmest little vessels that ever spread a sail, and she is said to be the fastest thing in the Pacific. She has certainly shown a clean pair of heels to every vessel sent out to try to catch her.”

“Her movements are so rapid that she seems a phantom ship. If reports be true, she is worth her weight in gold to her owners.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 13, 1891)

“Halcyon (was) built by Matthew Turner at Benicia the latter part of 1886 for Harry Tevis. The boat was one of the handsomest in the harbor, and her fittings were luxurious. She is 74-feet long, 21-feet 2-inches broad and 8-feet 5-inches deep, so her cabins were ample for the parties who used to go for cruises on her.”

“Tevis tired of the boat and sold her to persons who soon resold her, and she sailed … for Victoria, B. C, in charge of Captain Alfred Metcalf, while Alfred V Wilson appeared as owner.”

“For a few months the Halcyon dropped out of sight, and then stories about a vessel of her description that had met incoming
China steamers and taken on board large quantities of opium began to fly about.”

“It was asserted that the Halcyon picked up the opium after it had been thrown overboard from the steamer in tubs, and landed it in Drakes Bay, Halfmoon Bay and over at Sausalito. One thing is certain when the Halcyon was making her mysterious trips Hongkong opium could be bought in Chinatown for less money …”

“It soon became generally known that the yacht was owned by AW Whaley and EW McLean, two members of the famous Boyd-Ciprico gang. The pair saved money and opened an opium factory in Victoria and another in Vancouver, BC. For a time they directed all their attention to the smuggling of the stuff turned out by their Chinese workmen into the United States, and succeeded.”

“Several times she was ‘nearly caught,’ but matters were always so arranged that the Custom House men were ‘a day behind the fair.’ The next time she was heard from she was in Hongkong, where Whaley bought two tons of opium.”

“She was next from off Honolulu, and a few months later appeared in Victoria, B. C, without an ounce of opium on board. Most of the opium had been landed on the Hawaiian Islands and the remainder came to San Francisco. Since then the Halcyon has made a number of trips which have proved successful.”

“In consequence, Whaley is living in Honolulu and entertaining the Marshal of the kingdom, the Minister of State and other officials, besides the consuls, at costly banquets”. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 25, 1892)

“The ‘gang’ of which Whaley, Ferdinand D Ciprico and ‘Champagne Billy’ Boyd were leaders flourished from about 1888 to 1892, when Ciprico was sent to San Quentin. Boyd committed suicide while under arrest at Alcatraz. Whaley escaped to foreign lands and lived luxuriously on the proceeds of his operations, an exile from America.” (Hawaiian Star, August 28, 1907)

“Opium began to pour into the island villages, and the price dropped from $75 per pound to $23. With the identity of the mysterious schooner once settled, the Hawaiian Customs authorities concluded that the source of the opium influx had something to do with the Halcyon and ordered an armed expedition out to bring her into port.”

“A dozen seizures of the drug were made in various places, and it was so thick that the Hawaiian papers credited the Halcyon with importing 450 tons of it. This is somewhat extravagant, as the Halcyon only measures sixty-three tons, and could not possibly carry over one hundred.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 29, 1891)

“If Whaley be a smuggler, and there is little doubt that he is, he is certainly one of the most romantic figures in the gallery of customs-breakers. He is a handsome man of good figure apparently about thirty-five years old, and possessed of a dashing manner that well becomes the title given him around town as ‘King of the Smugglers.’”

“WA Whaley has duped all his associates in the smuggling business, and has fled to Yokohama. The sum he is said to have made away with is about $75,000, which shows, if true, that there is no honor among smugglers or thieves.”

“Whaley … claimed to have boundless influence with certain high officials in the islands, but he did not go so far as to name them. He claimed that a Chinaman in Honolulu made over $1,000,000 while he was in the business.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 2, 1892)

“Whaley was noted in Hongkong for his extravagant mode of living, but his luck turned against him and the usual result followed. He lost all his money and finally went to Manila, where he eked out a precarious existence.”

“A few months ago the physicians told him that the end was near. Without money or friends he was dying far from his native country. It was cheaper for the government to send him to America than keep him as a public charge and he was sent to San Francisco on the Thomas as an indigent citizen. He died at sea July 28th.” (Hawaiian Star, August 28, 1907)

“The passing of William A. Whaley on board the United States army transport Thomas, who died a pauper while on the homeward voyage from the Philippines recalled to the old officials in the customs house service one of the strongest bands of depredators against the customs revenue that has ever existed on this coast.” (Hawaiian Star, August 28, 1907)

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Whaley-Opium_King-Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 19, 1909

January 29, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Public Clocks

The first timepieces seen by the Islanders were those brought in 1778-1779 by Captain James Cook and his officers. These instruments included “the same Watch Machine that was out with me last voyage,” “Another Watch Machine . . . put on board the Discovery,” an astronomical Clock,” an “Alarum D°,” and a “Pinchback pocket Watch with a second hand & Ruby Cylinder.”

The “watch machine,” or marine chronometer, was an extremely accurate and sophisticated timepiece, essential for determining longitude, that had only recently been perfected by John Harrison; tested on Cook’s second voyage, it had “performed magnificently.”

The first direct evidence of a clock on Island soil appears in a list of goods received by Kamehameha I at Lahaina in 1812, in return for a shipload of sandalwood. Well down an accounting of such items as clothing, swords, mirrors, saddles, casks, lamps, fishing rods, and rockets appears the entry, “1 large clock for the house.” (Schmitt & Cox)

“Large public clocks first appeared in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1842, James Hunnewell presented Kawaiahaʻo Church with the large church clock on the gallery wall below the new organ.”

The public clock served the functional purpose of telling passers-by the time. But it also served as a village landmark, a reference point, and a symbol of civic pride. Indeed, public clocks were something of a status symbol for a community, a sign that a town had reached a certain level of prosperity, that there was action there.

A clock was ordered from France soon after the dedication of the Our Lady of Peace Catholic Cathedral. Bishop Maigret sent the order through the office of the superior of the Sacred Hearts Fathers and Brothers in Valparaiso, Chile.

It was sent there for inspection before it was forwarded to Hawai‘i. For some unknown reason, it was switched with an older clock in Chile. (Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace) This ‘second-hand’ clock was installed in the Church’s original tower in about 1846. (Historic Hawaii Foundation) It is the oldest tower clock in Hawai‘i.

Kawaiahaʻo Church, designed by Hiram Bingham and constructed between 1836 and 1842, was in the New England style of the Protestant missionaries. Its tower clock is commonly referred to as the Kauikeaouli clock (four faces,) in memory of King Kamehameha III, its donor.

It was made by the Howard & Davis Clock Makers of Boston, Massachusetts. Mechanics arrived with the clock in 1850 and preparations were made for its installation – King Kamehameha III was selected to supervise the task. The clock, which tolls the hours, still operates on its original machinery.

Down on the Honolulu Harbor waterfront, Lucas’ Honolulu Planing Mill building served a couple critical purposes. First, the clock tower served as a range marker for ships aligning to enter/leave the harbor. (“The line of the harbor light (red) and the clock tower of the Honolulu Planing Mill on Fort … just touches the west side of this channel at the outer end.”) (Hawaii Bureau of Customs)

In addition, the clock served as a local time piece, as well as the official time to mariners. “Time-Signal at Planing Mill … a time-signal has been established at the Honolulu steam-planing mill, Honolulu, Sandwich islands. The signal is a whistle, which is sounded twice daily by electric signal from the survey office; … (giving time associated with) Greenwich mean time. (Nautical Magazine, January 1890)

The Lucas clock didn’t always work; “Lucas’ clock … At 7 this morning the clock was of the opinion that 10:45 was about the correct time.” (Hawaiian Star, October 25, 1895)

“Lucas’ clock on the Esplanade has been groggy for some time lately but repairs are being made. It’s a godsend to the waterfront people and the government should keep it in repair.” (Evening Bulletin, July 12, 1897)

Others wanted to be different, “Maui wants to adopt the Government time on Lucas’ clock with five minutes added, but some few will not agree to it. The result is a great uncertainty in times. (Maui, June 28)” (Hawaiian Gazette, July 1, 1890)

Another Harbor timepiece (and still keeping time) are the four clocks on Aloha Tower (construction began in 1924.) It was completed in a year and a half and became the landmark of Honolulu.

At 10 stories and 184 feet of height topped with 40 feet of flag mast, for four decades the Aloha Tower was the tallest structure in Hawaii. It was built in the Hawaiian Gothic architectural style.

The 4 clocks, each face 12 feet in diameter (by far the biggest clock in the Territory of Hawai‘i and one of the largest in the United States at the time) and facing different directions, were made of bronze and weighed 7 tons each.

If a ship or person was too far away to read the clock, two other means of time synchronization were provided. A time ball was lowered to the bottom of the forty-foot mast atop the tower each day at noon, and the blast of a siren was sounded at 7 am, noon and 4 pm.

Aloha Tower was built as a control tower for the Honolulu harbormaster and a lighthouse as part of a modern freight and passenger terminal at piers 8, 9 and 10.

In addition, it provided offices for the harbor master, pilots and customs officials. The eleventh floor of the tower served as a lookout for the harbor pilots, with balconies on all four sides.

The Kaʻahumanu Church began on August 19, 1832; the first services were held under a thatched roof. The present Kaʻahumanu Church is actually the fourth place of worship for the Wailuku congregation. The original congregation, under the leadership of the Reverend Jonathan S Green, was forced to hold their meetings in a shed.

Active fundraising under Pastor William Pulepule Kahale led to the opportunity to finally build a permanent church. Under the direction of Reverend Edward Bailey, in May, 1876, the new church, finally named the Kaʻahumanu Church, was completed.

The Kaʻahumanu Church is a large blue stone structure with wall more than two feet thick. It has a high-pitched gable roof with no overhang, but the eave terminates in a small molding adjacent to the top place along the wall.

The exterior is finished in plaster. The church tower was not added until 1884 with a “fine tower clock from the U.S. costing $1,000.” In 1892 the chandeliers were added to the interior.

Hilo’s Waiākea Social Settlement Clock was dedicated in 1939, in memory of Mrs CS Richards. The May 23, 1960 tsunami damaged the clock – it stopped at 1:05 am, when the tsunami struck. It was restored on its original pedestal and reminds all who pass of the timing of the tsunami.

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Our Lady of Peace-Cathedral

Aloha Tower Camouflaged

Aloha_Tower,_Honolulu,_1959

Aloha_Tower-1935

Aloha_Tower-Under_Construction-Star-Bulletin-1925

Kaahumanu Church

Kawaiahao Church in 1885-Look towards Diamond Head

Kawaiahao_Church,_Honolulu,_in_1857

Kawaiahao_Church_at_Honolulu_illustration-Bingham

Lucas Clock Noted-Ships_in_Honolulu_Harbor-1900

Lucas Clock-Looking up Fort St. from Allen St. (later Nimitz – Ala Moana)-PP-38-5-016-1885

Lucas_Tower_in_background-Young Brothers Launch ‘Sea Scout’ in Honolulu Harbor-PPWD-9-3-030-1905

Waiakea Social Settlement Clock

Waiakea Social Settlement Clock-memorial

Waiakea Social Settlement Clock plaque

January 26, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Chinese Baseball

Baseball is based on the English game of rounders. Rounders become popular in the United States in the early 19th century, where the game was called “townball”, “base” or “baseball”.

In 1845, Alexander Cartwright organized the New York Knickerbockers team with a constitution and bylaws, and suggested that they could arrange more games and the sport would be more widely-played if it had a single set of agreed-upon rules.

Cartwright went on to teach people in Hawai‘i how to play the game; he also was part of Honolulu’s first Volunteer Fire Brigade, and became Fire Chief.

Cartwright was the executor of Queen Emma’s Last Will & Testament, as well as executor of the estate of King Kalākaua. Alexander Cartwright died at the age of 72 in Honolulu on July 12th, 1892. A large, pink granite monument in Oʻahu Cemetery marks the final resting-place of Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr.

Japan had already adopted the sport during the Meiji era (1870s), when Japan was adopting western customs to establish a more modern national identity. Baseball, to the Japanese, incorporated both western and eastern cultural elements. Baseball had Japanese values of harmony, determination and discipline while also reflecting Western characteristics. (Pang)

The recorded history of Japanese American involvement in baseball in Hawai‘i dates back to 1899, the year Reverend Takie Okumura of the Makiki Christian Church formed a team made up primarily of boys who boarded at his Okumura Home.

He named the team Excelsior, and they captured the youth league championship in 1905. (Chinen) Other ethnic teams formed, including the Chinese.

“Although Chinese baseball players are mighty scarce in this country, over in Honolulu there is a team composed exclusively of Chinese and they play good baseball. The team is called the Chinese Alohas.”

“In a recent game with the players representing the Hawaiian Hotel, the Chinese team won by the score of 9 to 8. The line-up of the Chinese team is as follows:”

“F You, catcher; Chang Yen, pitcher; N. Sheng, first base; Ah Yap, second base; Yuan Chew, third base; Hoi Sing, shortstop: Ho Tong, right field: Ah Sam, center field; Hung Nyam, left field.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, April 17, 1907)

“During the period between 1910 and 1925, (Chinese) baseball teams … ruled supreme in the territory. The aggregations were so successful that they new worlds to conquer.”

“Starting in 1912 and through 1916, Chinese diamond squads annually invaded the mainland, returning each time with impressive records.” (Franks)

“Honolulu had become a hotbed of Chinese American community baseball. In the early 1900s, the Chinese Athletic Club (CAC) team and the Chinese Alohas called on the services of some of the best ballplayers in the city.”

“In 1912, the CAC, with the financial help of Chinatown merchants and haole boosters anxious to promote Honolulu on the mainland, assembled an ‘all-Chinese’ team that journeyed across the Pacific and engaged in over 100 games against college, community, semiprofessional, and professional teams.”

In June 1912, a Chinese in Hawai‘i organized an amateur league with teams such as the Wah Mun, CAU, CYA, Kukuis and Man Lun. (Franks)

A September 1912 game had thousands watching a game between Wah Mun (representing the ‘Chinese revolutionary faction’) against their rival Man Lun team (representing the Chinese Emperor Reform Association, which backed the continued dynastic rule of China.) There were fears of a riot; but there was none.

However, a fight flared in a later CAU – Man Lun game. Apparently, a Filipino Hawaiian fan was trying to compliment a Chinese Hawaiian player using a Chinese phrase. In reality, he uttered an insult. “For his compliment, the Filipino got a beating by from the Chinaman. The police let it go at that.” (Franks)

About this time there had been growing tensions in China and the revolutionary movement grew stronger and stronger, culminating in the October 10, 1911 Wuhan (Wuchang) Uprising which succeeded in overthrowing the Qing (Manchu) dynasty and establishing the Republic of China.

That date is now celebrated annually as the Republic of China’s national day, also known as the “Double Ten Day,” when the Qing Dynasty finally fell. Sun Yat-sen (the Father of Modern China – and who learned the game of baseball when he lived in Hawai‘i in 1883,) who had been on the American mainland, returned to China at the invitation of the successful revolutionaries to be sworn in as China’s first president in 1912.

Sun’s presidency lasted only 45 days. His most powerful rival was Yuan Shikai (Shih-kai,) who had built a strong base of power in northern China in his role as a top Qing military leader. When Yuan began to flex his muscles, Sun decided it would be politically prudent to abdicate in his favor. Sun turned his attention to forming the Guomindang (Nationalist Party.) (Asia Society)

The Republic of China governed mainland China until 1949; in that year, during the Chinese Civil War, the communists captured Beijing and later Nanjing. The communist-party-led People’s Republic of China was proclaimed on October 1, 1949.

Back to baseball … in 1915, “arrangements have been completed for the famous All-Chinese baseball team of Honolulu, which was so successful against the leading American College clubs on its tour of the United States last year, to come to Shanghai and take part in the series for the open baseball championship of the Far East.”

They needed to raise $5,000 for expenses. Chinese President Yuan Shih-kai sent a letter of support, “stating the president’s hearty approval of the effort to popularize baseball in China as a suitable outdoor sport for Chinese youth …”

“… and the president also sent his check for $500 as a personal contribution towards the expenses of bringing out the All-Chinese baseball team from Honolulu, which he believes will do much to stimulate interest in the game among Chinese.” (Star Bulletin, April 8, 1915)

Furthermore, “Under the patronage of the Chinese government and with the personal assistance of Wu Tang-fang, former Chinese minister to the United States, a baseball team of American-born Chinese is on its way to Shanghai on the steamer Mongolia, by way of the Philippines and Japan.”

“Their expenses in China will be met by the Chinese Government. The team will tour the (principal) cities of the interior to introduce American athletics for the physical improvement of the youth of China.” (Columbus Weekly Advocate, April 15, 1915)

“Sixteen games were played in all during the trip to the Philippines and China, and of these 12 were won, three lost and one tied.”

“In Peking the president of China gave us a reception, and talked to us for about five minutes. We received special permission
to visit the old royal residence, and altogether were treated as distinguished guests.” (Star-Bulletin, June 22, 1915)

In Hawai‘i in 1920, an All-Chinese team knocked off a visiting University of Chicago team; they tied University of California, and later in 1922, Honolulu’s All-Chinese team beat a visiting Stanford team. (Franks)

“For several decades thereafter Hawaiian Chinese organized their own leagues, while supporting a team called the Chinese Tigers that competed in the Hawaii Baseball League.” (Jorae; Zhao)

Chinese Americans used baseball as a means of developing and maintaining sense of community. Through baseball, they cross cultural boundaries to play with and against varied racial and ethnic identities. Some American ballplayers of Chinese ancestry have competed effectively at the highest levels of professional baseball. (Jorae; Zhao)

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Chinese_Baseball_Team-Hawaii-LOC

Honolulu-CAC-1909

Chinese-Baseball-Team-Hawaii-LOC

Chinese University of Hawaii played Rice Institute-Rice

Chinese-Baseball-Team-Tour of US-1913-LOC

January 23, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Science City

While observing a Haleakala sunrise, Mark Twain was quoted as exclaiming “I felt like the last man, neglected of the judgment, and left pinnacled in mid-heaven, a forgotten relic of a vanished world.”

In 1961, an Executive Order by Governor Quinn set aside land on the summit of Haleakala in a place known as Kolekole, to be under the control and management of the University of Hawaiʻi which established the ‘Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site,’ sometimes referred to as Science City. (IfA)

But, modern interest in the heavens from Kolekole started a decade earlier. In the spring of 1951, Grote Reber was looking for one of the best sites in the world to undertake radio astronomy experiments.

After the discovery of cosmic radio emissions by Karl Jansky in 1931, one of the first to take up the scientific investigation of these emissions was Reber with a radio telescope in his backyard in Wheaton, Illinois.

In 1951 Reber came to Hawaiʻi to take advantage of a unique geophysical condition. By placing his antenna atop 10,000-foot Haleakala on the island of Maui, he hoped to use the ocean as a reflector so that the antenna received both the direct signal from a cosmic radio source and the signal reflected from the ocean, forming a ‘Lloyd’s Mirror’ type of interferometer.

His antenna was built on a circular track so that it could be rotated in any direction. Reber said “Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the island of Hawai`i, each with 4.24 km altitude, are most desirable scientifically. However, Haleakala on the island of Maui is the most practical due to the relatively easy access.” (IfA)

Ultimately, the facility apparently did not function well, because of signal interference. The bulk of the structure was dismantled about 18-months after the facility was completed. (Xamanek)

In 1956, Dr Fred Whipple, director of the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory sent a letter to Dr CE Kenneth Mees, explaining the need for a satellite tracking station in Hawaii to form a vital link in a 12-station worldwide tracking network.

Mees was the retired vice president for research of the Eastman Kodak Company and the developer of the color film Kodachrome.

He was especially well known among astronomers because of his interest in developing special photographic emulsions suitable for astrophotography, and his insistence that the company provide these materials to the astronomers at cost. Dr. Whipple asked his old friend if he knew of some way a satellite tracking station could be established in Hawai`i.

Mees turned to the University of Hawaiʻi and offered financial assistance if the University would undertake the project. Mees donated some of his Kodak stock to underwrite the cost.

The University sold the Kodak stock and with the proceeds built a small cinderblock building with a sliding roof to house the anticipated Baker-Nunn Super-Schmidt tracking camera, and a small wood-frame building for living accommodations for the observers.

The satellite tracking facility was ready on July 1, 1957, but the camera was not; they first installed Schmidt meteor-tracking cameras. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite to be placed in orbit around Earth (forcibly opening the Space Age.) Later, the Baker-Nunn satellite Tracking Camera was dedicated on August 2, 1958.

As tracking technology gradually improved over the years, the usefulness of the Baker-Nunn cameras gradually declined, and the tracking assignments and staff at Haleakala gradually decreased until 1976, when the facility was shut down.

In 1962, Dr Franklin E. Roach of the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, who for many years had conducted photometric studies of auroras, airglow, zodiacal light, and the diffuse galactic light, became intrigued by the possibility of studying these phenomena at a low latitude site.

Haleakala appeared to be an ideal site for such studies because of the atmospheric transparency established earlier, the dark skies uncontaminated by artificial light, the large number of clear nights, and the low latitude (20°N).

January 24, 1964, the University of Hawai`i dedicated the Mees Solar Observatory that would help scientists learn the secrets of the sun. (Apparently, that is when the ‘Science City’ moniker started when a reporter for the Maui News made the reference at the time of the dedication.)

In 1965, the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) constructed an observatory to be operated by the University of Michigan.

At that time the 60-inch (1.6 meter) reflector was one of the world’s 10 largest astronomical telescopes. Additionally, two 48-inch (1.2 meter) infrared telescopes were installed in an adjacent dome. One would be used for tracking missiles and the other for basic research.

Observatories are an ‘identified land use’ in the Conservation District pursuant to HAR §13-5-24, Identified Land Uses permitted in the Resource Subzone include, R-3 Astronomy Facilities, (D-1) Astronomy facilities under an approved management plan.

Science City has housed astronomical facilities since the early 1950s. Current observatories include the Mees Solar Observatory, the Zodiacal Observatory, Pan-STARRS, the Advanced Electro-Optical System, the Maui Space Surveillance Site, the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS), the Airglow Facility, the Neutron Monitor Station, and the Faulkes Telescope North. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) (formerly known as Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST)) is under construction.

These facilities observe the sun, provide research time to students and educators worldwide, use lasers to measure the distances to satellites, track and catalogue manmade objects, track asteroids and other potential threats to Earth, and obtain detailed images of spacecraft.

This is the principal site for optical and infrared surveillance, inventory and tracking of space debris, and active laser illumination of objects launched into Earth orbit, all of which are crucial to the nation’s space program. (DLNR) (Lots of information here is from IfA.)

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