Old Naval Observatory

Old Naval Observatory is a site in Washington, D.C.. The observatory operated from 1844 to 1893 when it was closed in favor of a new U.S. Naval Observatory facility on Massachusetts Avenue. The building and grounds were retained by the U.S. Navy, which first used it to house the Naval Museum of Hygiene from 1894 to 1902. Beginning in 1903, the Naval Medical Hospital was constructed on the grounds, and it remained in use until 1942, when hospital operations were transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The Washington meridian passed through the Observatory. Today, the facility houses the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The grounds and observatory...