Historic Yerkes Observatory for sale

The University of Chicago has put the "for sale" sign out at its park-like 77-acre Yerkes Observatory site on the shores of Wisconsin's Lake Geneva.

The historic but technically obsolete observatory was a premier research institution in 20th Century astronomy, giving luminaries such as physicist Albert Einstein and astronomer Edwin Hubble a place to conduct undisturbed observations and research.

The Chicago Tribune said an East Coast developer offered the university around $10 million last summer to build dozens of houses and a European-style spa on the property. University trustees want the observatory preserved.

The three-domed, tan brick building was completed in 1897.

Aurora University, which owns the 240-acre George Williams College campus next to the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wis., and long-time residents are in negotiations with a counter-offer to purchase the site.

Local residents want to preserve the waterfront site they consider to be the soul of the bay.

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