Address for GPS
16 Pratt Loop, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
Accessibility
The Judith Loeb Chiara ’49 Center at the Maria Mitchell Observatory is fully accessible. The closest accessible parking spaces are located on Pratt Circle, in the Ely/Aula visitors” parking lot and Baldwin parking lot.
—Campus Accessibility for Vassar College Buildings
All Gender Bathroom
Located on the first floor, accessible.
About the Judith Loeb Chiara ’49 Center at the Maria Mitchell Observatory
The first building to be completed on the Vassar campus, the observatory was built for astronomy professor Maria Mitchell, arguably the most famous American scientist of the 19th century, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. In 1997, the new observatory at the edge of campus (and far away from interfering light sources) was completed, and the Mitchell Observatory was used for other purposes. After a meticulous renovation, the observatory is now home to the Education Department, with a spectacular seminar room in the dome room that once housed Mitchell’s telescope.