Daniel S. Schanck Observatory

The Daniel S. Schanck Observatory is a former astronomical observatory on the Queens Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. It is located along George Street near the corner with Hamilton Street at the side of the car park to Kirkpatrick Chapel, to the northwest of Old Queens and Geology Hall.

The two-story Roman Revival building of the observatory was designed by architect Willard Smith after the Roman Tower of the Winds in Athens and was built in 1865. It was named after New York City businessman Daniel S. Schanck, who donated a large portion of the funds to construct and equip the observatory. Outfitted with telescopes, clocks, and other scientific equipment donated to Rutgers, the Schanck Observatory served as the university's first astronomical observatory and was used to provide instruction to its students through the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

The observatory has not been in use since the 1960s. As part of the Queens Campus, the Schanck Observatory was included on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The building was renovated and is currently used by the Cap and Skull Senior Honor Society in 2016.

In 1864, Rutgers College was named New Jersey's sole land grant college which provided federal funding under the Morrill Act of 1862 for the development of engineering, scientific, agricultural, and military education. Previously, the college's curriculum focused on the classics and liberal arts.David Murray (1830–1905), professor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy, proposed building the school's first astronomical observatory to the college's president, William Henry Campbell (1808–1890), and its board of trustees. It would be the college's fourth building.

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