Lowell Observatory is a new star in the Arizona Memory Project

PHOENIX --The State of Arizona Research Library announces a new star in its digital collection: Flagstaff It Is-The Founding of Lowell Observatory.

The collection includes more than 200 letters between founder Percival Lowell and his assistant, A.E. Douglass that mark the beginning of the Observatory's history. Douglass and Lowell ultimately chose Flagstaff as the site for Lowell Observatory, and their correspondence tells the story of the institution's early years.

The Lowell Observatory Archives curated and digitized the collection as part of the 125 anniversary of the observatory.

“The Observatory continues today as a center of modern research and education, and this collection helps us understand how it all began,” said Lauren Amundson, an archivist and librarian at the Lowell Observatory Archives.

This digital collection is available indefinitely through the Arizona Memory Project for researchers and astronomy enthusiasts around the world. It can be viewed on any digital device at http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/custom/lo.

For questions about this or any digital collection, or for cultural institutions interested in sharing collections on the Arizona Memory Project, contact [email protected].

The Arizona Memory Project provides free online access to the wealth of primary sources in Arizona archives, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. This project is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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