Percival Lowell detail in mid-1896 soon after the Alvan Clark & Sons refracting telescope was installed at his new Flagstaff, Arizona observatory. Lowell observed the planet high in the daytime sky with the telescope's lens stopped down to 3 inches in diameter to reduce the effect of the turbulent daytime atmosphere. Lowell observed spoke-like surface features including a central dark spot, contrary to what was suspected then (and known now): that Venus has no surface features visible from Earth, being covered in an atmosphere that is opaque. It has been noted in a 2003 "Journal for the History of Astronomy" paper and
Goldendale Observatory State Park and north dome a diameter of 10 feet (3 m). The observatory served as the National Astronomical League's official headquarters during a solar eclipse which occurred on February 26, 1979, six years after the observatory opened. Approximately 15,000 people came to the town of Goldendale on that date to observe the eclipse. The Observatory and its lands were acquired by the state of Washington in 1980, after being operated by the Goldendale Observatory Corporation since its dedication on October 13, 1973. The park received its new designation as a "state park heritage site" in 2014. In July 2017, all structures