"The Great Lick Refractor"

Lick Observatory was built during the years 1880 to 1888. The 36-inch refractor was fabricated at the same time, and one dome was built specifically for this telescope. "36-inch" refers to the diameter of the refracting lenses, one of which is pictured at the right. When completed, the Lick Refractor was the largest refracting telescope in the world. Even today, it is second in size only to the 40-inch Yerkes Observatory refractor.

Located in the large dome of the main observatory building, the Great Lick refractor is 57 feet long, 4 feet in diameter, and weighs over 25,000 lbs! The two 36-inch diameter glass disks were fabricated in France, and ground and polished into lenses in Massachusetts by Alvan Clark and his son Alvan G. Clark. It was a considerable challenge to transport these large pieces of glass across the ocean by ship, then (after grinding and polishing) across the country by railroad, and finally up the long, winding road to Mt. Hamilton by horse and carriage. One of the original lenses broke in transit, and it took several years and 18 attempts to fabricate the replacement lens, which finally arrived on Mt. Hamilton in 1886, as recorded in this historical lens arrival photo from the Mary Lea Shane Archives of the Lick Observatory.

Just a last note. James Lick is burried below this telescope.

More information about this great telescope: