Mt. Wilson Observatory Hideout III: the Monastery

This was my first view of the Monastery at Mt. Wilson Observatory. Compare it to this photo. 

Here's how to orient yourself to it:

I took this from near the front door, looking between the main building and the cottage. The pooch in the linked photo was standing beside that chimney, behind the van.

No. They're pine cones.

Originally they called this a monastery because the only astronomers here in the early 20th century were men. That's not true anymore, but the name stuck.

I had always wanted to get a glimpse of the place but it's in one of the private areas of the mountaintop where astronomical researchers live while they're working here.

The monastery is only steps from my cabin. I took this picture from my front porch this morning while the sun rose. I'm not normally an early riser but I'm going circadian here.

Here's a better look at the Monastery Cabin. Someone is living in the front part now. The back houses a kitchen and dining room that was once staffed to provide meals for the astronomers. I was able to peek through a gauze curtain and see a dining table that might have seated 12 or more people. It looks like there's a clean, white tablecloth on it. There are also a couple of bells, the kind with handles on them that you ring to let folks know the chow is on. Couldn't get a good picture through the gauze.

The "day side" of the Monastery. Scientists studying the sun stay on this side. Those working at night stay down the hall behind me. There's also a second floor above the night side.

The night side hallway is plain and carpeted. At the end is this:

I don't know what it is, but keep in mind that it's outside Room 4.

This summer the Monastery housed students in the CUREA program. I hope they do it again next year. The professor in charge lived in my cabin. She had a dog. I know because of the pupkiss on the windows above the couch. It makes me feel at home.

You can see why the place is thought of as monastic. It's simple and clean. This room is luxurious; others I saw had bunk beds. Each has a sink. There's a communal bathroom and a laundry room (bring quarters).

Nice views from every room.

The Monastery is at the end of a promontory below the Observatory. Behind it this stairway leads down the steep hillside to buildings that are part of another entity. The warning works for me.

Heading uphill in the other direction on your way to the telescopes, you'll pass my cottage. Mine at least for another 24 hours.