The Octagon at Amherst College
About The Octagon at Amherst College
The foundation thus laid by Andrew Lawrence will hereafter sustain the instruments of modern society to draw from the skies a knowledge of the stars - to demonstrate to men the Glory of God, and the magnificence of His works, - and to show to their wondering minds that "the thousand brilliant worlds which circle round Him, are governed by one law, and that in wisdom 'He has made them all'"
The Octagon at Amherst College was the first natural history museum and observatory on campus. Edward Hitchcock (President of Amherst College in 1845) hired Henry A. Sykes to build it. It was intended to be unusual, with its elegant dome observatory and the collection of materials ranging from meteorites to animals and fossils. The Octagon was constructed in 1847–48.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Founded
- 1847
Photos of The Octagon at Amherst College
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01MassachusettsJohn Phelan · CC BY 3.0
02Lawrence Observatory (Amherst College)Андрей Романенко · CC BY-SA 4.0
03Lawrence Observatory (Amherst College)Андрей Романенко · CC BY-SA 4.0
04Henry Ward Beecher monument in AmherstАндрей Романенко · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Nearby museums
Make a day of it. 4 more museums are within a mile of The Octagon at Amherst College; the closest, Mead Art Museum, is about a mile away.
