In
this second series of pictures, JPL continued to expand its use
of the mountain for various scientific programs, and long-range plans
for the future site development. The picture below, an aerial view,
shows the 16-inch telescope building in the upper right center, and
the solar panel testing site in the lower left foreground.
Solar
panels for various JPL unmanned spacecraft were tested and developed
here in the early to mid '60s. Later, a site specific for panel testing
was developed at a slightly lower site to the south, so as not to
interfere with any of the optical astronomy programs.
One
of the requirements after a heavy snowstorm, but usually only
for wet snow, was the tedious task of snow removal from the dome.
J. Young is pictured on the left, and Jack Lyon, the caretaker and
maintenance man, is shoveling the snow toward the photographer, Mr.
Capen, the new Resident Astronomer. Young was Capen's assistant and
darkroom technician, having come to the facility in November, 1962.
This
original garage now houses the 4-wheel drive utility vehicle and
snow plow, plus the various site utility equipment and water pump.
This
older residence was converted into the new operations building
for a small radio-science 8-foot dish for radio astronomy.
In
the fall of 1963, one of the most beautiful scenes on the short
6 mile drive from Wrightwood to Table Mountain was the beautiful setting
of the Big Pines Ranger Station. (below) To the left is an old recreational
hall used as a restaurant and dance hall in the 1930's, but unused
now. The 1936 winter Olympic trials were held just 1000 feet south
of this station at the Blue Ridge Ski Area (now called Mountain High).
The restaurant /dance hall was a booming operation way back then!
Part of the ranger station burned to the ground in 1983.
The
following picture is another aerial view showing the site in 1964.
To the lower left is the old tennis court for the Smithsonian facility.
This was the area later developed for the modern headquarters building.
In the lower center is the in-progress construction of a 240,000 gallon
water tank for us and the surrounding Forestry use facilities. The
site had been relying upon two 1200 gallon water tanks, filled by
a very antiquated model-T Ford engine pumping station off the site.
In the winter, getting to the pumping station, let alone starting
the pump (engine) in cold weather, proved too difficult for the greater
needs of the expanding site.
The
new water tank would have its own automated pumping facility (still
in use today, 1998). In the upper right side is a new Butler building,
TM-2, housing solar test instruments, such as the Active Cavity Radiometer
Irradiance Monitor II (ACRIM II). Below this picture is a close-up
view of the new water tank construction.
In
April 1965, the Butler building (TM-2) has been removed and moved
to a newly developed solar test site, about 1/2 mile to the east and
only 100 feet lower in elevation. This additional aerial shot shows
TM-1, the 16-inch telescope building in the center, the radio astronomy
dish in the upper right center, and its operational buildings just
behind TM-1.
In
front of TM-1 are the two original bunkers used by Smithsonian.
In the upper left are the office building and resident quarters for
Mr. Capen. In the lower left center is the area being readied for
the 24-inch telescope building, which was finished in the fall. The
new and larger telescope was delivered and placed into operation in
March 1966.
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