Roger Putnam which was under-utilized due to poor viewing conditions and low elevation. Putnam led the negotiations which permanently moved the telescope to Lowell Observatory's Anderson Mesa site (in Arizona). The telescope was operated by Lowell Observatory in partnership with the Ohio State University and Ohio Wesleyan, and purchased by Lowell in 1998. Putnam brought Perkins's telescope to the Arizona observatory as well. The Observatory's existing telescope had cracked in 1964 while staff attempted to update its optical system. The Perkins mirror did not stay at Lowell for long, returning to Perkins' control in 1969. The Lowell Observatory retained the mount, however.
Percival Lowell elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1892. He moved back to the United States in 1893. Beginning in the winter of 1893–94, using his wealth and influence, Lowell dedicated himself to the study of astronomy, founding the observatory which bears his name. In 1904, Lowell received the Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society. For the last 23 years of his life astronomy, Lowell Observatory, and his and others' work at his observatory were the focal points of his life. World War I very much