If Mark Holden had his way, the Asch observatory dome atop the vacant Bassick High School on Fairfield Avenue would have a new home with his astronomy group.
Installed in 2015 to replace the original dome built in 1968 during the Space Race, the dome rotates to allow a telescope to track objects as they move across the sky. Manufactured by Illinois-based Asch Manufacturing Co. the dome was used by students to explore the solar system.
“If I won the Powerball, and I wanted to put a dome in my backyard, I would choose the Bassick High School Asch Dome,” said Holden, the president of the Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society in Stratford.
Holden is hoping the city will donate the dome to his society as officials prepare the old school for redevelopment. He envisions the dome atop a new observatory with a classroom to better accommodate students and astronomy enthusiasts who gather at Boothe Memorial Park on Main Street to stargaze.
But for now he’s thrilled that the society has the Goto astronomical telescope that lived beneath the dome.
Bridgeport’s Board of Education recently gifted the telescope to the society after Bassick relocated to a new school built near the University of Bridgeport campus.
Holden compared the Goto telescope to a high-end classic car. The Japanese-made telescope includes a 6-inch objective lens, a hydrogen-alpha solar filter making it safe to observe the Sun, and a tracking drive that allows viewers to see celestial objects through the telescope as the Earth rotates.
“The build quality on the telescope, the level of machining is outstanding,” Holden said.
As city officials consider a proposal by Bronx-based Pillar Property Management to transform the school into a housing development, some have raised concerns about vandalism at the shuttered high school. Council member Dasha Spell is concerned about squatters occupying the old school. She is glad the telescope has found a new home and will continue to be used for educational purposes.
“I’m hoping that the new home for the telescope will excite the kids that utilize it,” Spell said.
William Coleman, deputy director of Bridgeport’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, said the city’s desire is that the dome is safe and will be reused. He said the city will likely start a conversation with the Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society about acquiring the dome.
“We do want to see that the dome can be reused because it’s a unique feature,” Coleman said. “I don’t know more by way of specifics just yet, but I can state that it is our intention to be sure that it is preserved.”
While Holden waits for a call from the city about the dome, the telescope sits in storage in a town garage. For Holden, ideally the dome would sit atop the society’s new observatory with the Goto telescope inside.
He’s just hoping the stars align to reunite the celestial duo.
