Energy efficiency and Ottawa’s Dominion Observatory

Wandering around the experimental farm, I ran across one of my new favourite buildings in Ottawa. Natural Resources Canada has an Office of Energy Efficiency housed in an old observatory that would look at home in Oxford, Myst, or a neo-Victorian steampunk fantasy. It has great brickwork, an attractive green copper dome, interesting detailing, and a nice setting uphill from Dow’s Lake. The building is called the Dominion Observatory, and served in that capacity from 1905 to 1974, with a 15″ refracting telescope installed in the main dome.

I will need to find some pretense for getting invited in. I will also need to go back at a time when the lighting is more favourable, and when I have a tripod with me.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. Between 2005 and 2007 I completed an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. I worked for five years for the Canadian federal government, including completing the Accelerated Economist Training Program, and then completed a PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto in 2023. View all posts by Milan