Historical Recreations

Historical Recreations

Our Gothic Revival observatory, designed by the architecture firm responsible for many of the other iconic buildings on the Western campus, fits everyone’s pictures of what an old university observatory should look like. Happily, the interior details are as well-preserved as those on the exterior. The observatory also retains many distinctive pieces of furniture made by campus carpenters in the 1940s. History rooms in the observatory recreate scenes from period photographs using original artifacts, a feature unique among Canadian observatories. The following images capture this authenticity in then-and-now photographs.

 
A picture of W.G. Colgrove in the Cronyn Observatory workshop on opening day, and a picture of W.G. Colgrove's grandson, Barry Colgrove, on the occasion of the workshop's grand re-opening, recreating the October 25, 1940 photograph.
(left) A picture of W.G. Colgrove in the Cronyn Observatory workshop on opening day, October 25, 1940. (right) A picture of W.G. Colgrove's grandson, Barry Colgrove, in the Cronyn Observatory's workshop on May 18, 2018, on the occasion of the workshop's grand re-opening, recreating the October 25, 1940 photograph.
(left) W.G. Colgrove in the Cronyn Observatory Office, October 25, 1940. (right) 1940s-era Cronyn Observatory office, recreated using the photograph at left as a guide. Mark Tovey is dressed as W.G. Colgrove. This photograph was taken on October 25, 2015, exactly 75 years to the day after the original photograph was taken.
(left) W.G. Colgrove in the Cronyn Observatory Office, October 25, 1940. (right) 1940s-era Cronyn Observatory office, recreated using the photograph at left as a guide. Mark Tovey is dressed as W.G. Colgrove. This photograph was taken on October 25, 2015, exactly 75 years to the day after the original photograph was taken.
(left picture) Cronyn Observatory Director H.R. Kingston (left) and W.G. Colgrove (right) in the Observatory dome on opening night, October 25, 1940. Note their characteristic fedoras. (right picture) Cronyn Observatory Director Jan Cami (left) and Henry Leparskas (right) on Nov 21, 2020. Colgrove's distinctive fedora has been digitally added to this photograph for the occasion.
(left picture) Cronyn Observatory Director H.R. Kingston (left) and W.G. Colgrove (right) in the Observatory dome on opening night, October 25, 1940. Note their characteristic fedoras. (right picture) Cronyn Observatory Director Jan Cami (left) and Henry Leparskas (right) on Nov 21, 2020. Colgrove's distinctive fedora has been digitally added to this photograph for the occasion.
The R.A.F. Air Navigation School at Port Albert visited the Observatory to learn astronomical techniques for navigation from H.R. Kingston and W.G. Colgrove. 
LFP April 26, 1941. R.C.A.F. pilots recreate the 1941 photograph on April 26, 1941, 82 years to the day from the original photo. Photo: Henry Leparskas.
The R.A.F. Air Navigation School at Port Albert visited the Observatory to learn astronomical techniques for navigation from H.R. Kingston and W.G. Colgrove. 
LFP April 26, 1941. R.C.A.F. pilots recreate the 1941 photograph on April 26, 1941, 82 years to the day from the original photo. Photo: Henry Leparskas.
(left) Professor McGee, Observatory Director, demonstrating an Earth-Sun-Moon model designed by W.G. Colgrove to a group of Girl Guides visiting the Cronyn Observatory on April 27. 1951. (right) Professor Cami, Observatory Director, demonstrating an Earth-Sun-Moon model designed by W.G. Colgrove to a group of Brownies visiting the Cronyn Observatory on October 25, 2022.
(left) Professor McGee, Observatory Director, demonstrating an Earth-Sun-Moon model designed by W.G. Colgrove to a group of Girl Guides visiting the Cronyn Observatory on April 27. 1951. (right) Professor Cami, Observatory Director, demonstrating an Earth-Sun-Moon model designed by W.G. Colgrove to a group of Brownies visiting the Cronyn Observatory on October 25, 2022.
(left) Grayden Symonds with the main telescope in the dome, March 1968. (right) Jan Cami as Graydon Symonds, Nov 21, 2020.
(left) Grayden Symonds with the main telescope in the dome, March 1968. (right) Jan Cami as Graydon Symonds, Nov 21, 2020.