75 Years of Skyscrapers:
1932 - 2007
As Skyscrapers’ historian since 1998, and having had a keen interest in the rich history of our society for many years before that, more than three years ago I was well aware that the 75th anniversary of Skyscrapers’ founding would soon be approaching. Not only did I begin to collect whatever information was readily available, but I also began to research every avenue I could think of in an attempt to locate historical materials that may have been misplaced or that had been held in private hands.
Skyscrapers’ 25th anniversary was celebrated with the publication of A Quarter Century of Skyscraping, a wonderful source of information highlighting the achievements of the early years of the society. I used it as a guide to recap those early years, but have also supplemented it with details that have come to light since its 1957 publication.
Some additional details were supplied by long time member Bill Penhallow, and some information, particularly regarding the Smiley/ Skyscrapers eclipse expeditions, came from a variety of sources.
One big cache of Skyscrapers documents was donated by the Frederick Hoffman family in mid-July 2000. (Though Hoffman was not a founding member in 1932, he was a charter member when Skyscrapers incorporated and purchased Seagrave Observatory in 1936.) And Hoffman saved everything over the years!
Among the many boxes of materials we have found a few surprises. A couple of black and white photographic negatives show Seagrave Observatory believed to have been taken at the time Skyscrapers purchased the property. I don’t think anyone has seen these images for perhaps 50 to 60 years. They are the earliest known images of our great facility taken by our members. The earliest known image of Seagrave Observatory is the one showing the observatory under construction in 1914.
Another great find was a letter from Seagrave to Skyscrapers thanking them for his election as an honorary member. It is reproduced in this book.
This 75 year anniversary recap does not start where the 25 year book left off in 1957. This book covers the highlights of the entire 75 years.
The Skyscrapers organization has been quite busy during its distinguished lifetime. I think even some of our more seasoned members will learn some facts for the first time. And newcomers to the organization will be amazed at all Skyscrapers has accomplished.
Besides using our 25 year book as a guide for further research, I read all available monthly meeting minutes and all the executive board notes. Some personal correspondence is also drawn upon from some of our long-time members. Though I have been a member for the last 32 years (January 1975), one cannot remember all the details that happened during those three plus decades. So I sat down and read every issue of The Skyscraper to refresh my memory. And since The Skyscraper newsletter was first published in January 1975, and assuming 12 issues per year, that’s a total of 384 issues. It did take a while to review all of them, but that is also why I began this project almost three years ago.
The information is as accurate as the sources from which the data was extracted. Should anyone have any updated information please feel free to contact me.
Where I have offered an opinion on a particular event or topic, that opinion is mine and mine alone and does not reflect the opinion of the organization or its membership.
And please remember one important fact as you enjoy reading and learning about the rich history of the Skyscrapers’ organization: We owe the continued success of our society to the dedication and hard work of our members.
David A. Huestis
Historian, Skyscrapers, Inc.
