Military

U.S. Naval Observatory

The U.S. Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the country. Today, the U.S. Naval Observatory is the preeminent authority in the areas of time keeping and celestial observing; determining and distributing the timing and astronomical data required for accurate navigation and fundamental astronomy.

Established in 1830 as the Depot of Charts and Instruments, its primary mission was to care for the U.S. Navy's chronometers, charts and other navigational equipment. In 1844, as its mission evolved and expanded, the Depot was reestablished as the U.S. Naval Observatory and was located on the hill north of where the Lincoln Memorial now stands (i.e. Foggy Bottom). For nearly 50 years the Observatory remained at the Foggy Bottom location. During these years significant scientific studies were carried out such as speed of light measurements, the phenomena of solar eclipses and transit of Venus expeditions. The astronomical and nautical almanacs were started in 1855. In 1877, while working for the Naval Observatory, astronomer Asaph Hall discovered the two satellites of Mars.

By the 1890's, it was clear that the Naval Observatory had to move out of the city. Unhealthy conditions in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood had taken their toll. In 1893, after nearly 50 years at the site on the Potomac River, the U.S. Naval Observatory moved to its present location. At that time, this rural site was well outside the city in the countryside above Georgetown. The move not only provided better astronomical observing conditions, but also provided an opportunity to rethink old scientific programs and propose new ones. Along with the new programs such as daily monitoring of solar activity, the old functions of time keeping and telescopic observations were kept intact when the Observatory moved to the new site. The old Observatory in Foggy Bottom was declared a National Historic landmark in 1966.

The Vice President's Residence at the Naval Observatory is a large, white-painted, brick Victorian house on the southeast corner of 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue in the District of Columbia. A typical nineteenth-century country home in the Queen Anne style, it was built for the Superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory in 1893 on lands that had originally been owned by Margaret and Cornelius Barber, wealthy Georgetown landowners. In 1929, it became home to the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations, and was named "Admiral's House." In 1974, the house was designated as the first official residence of the Vice President of the United States. Since that time, Vice Presidents Mondale, Bush, Quayle and Gore have resided there with their families.