Lowell Observatory
Built 1894. Added to the National Register in 1966, and a National Historic Landmark.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 1 mi. W of Flagstaff on Mars Hill, Flagstaff, AZ |
| County | Coconino County |
| Listed | Oct 15, 1966 |
| Listed for | Science |
| Level of significance | National |
| Reference number | 66000172 |
| Built | 1894 · more from the 1890s |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | 1 mi. W of Flagstaff on Mars Hill, Flagstaff, AZ |
| Coordinates | 35.2028° N, 111.6644° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Flagstaff | 53 listed places in Flagstaff → · walking tour → |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Coconino County
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Public land around it
| Coconino National Forest ↗National Forest, U.S. Forest Service | Inside the boundary2,000,952 acres |
Wilderness Atlas publishes a centroid and an acreage for each unit, not a boundary line. Distance here is measured to a circle of the same area drawn around that centroid, so treat it as roughly right rather than surveyed.
Local history books for Flagstaff
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Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Arizona
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Lowell Observatory listed on the National Register?
Oct 15, 1966. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
When was Lowell Observatory built?
1894.
Source: Wikidata
Where is Lowell Observatory?
1 mi. W of Flagstaff on Mars Hill, Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona.
Source: National Park Service
Where is the nomination form for Lowell Observatory?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Is there a wildfire near Lowell Observatory right now?
4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-10-17, nearest Wing West Project Rx, 8 miles away.
Source: Map
Sources
Name, location, type and dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet of listed properties, because the Park Service's spatial data does not carry this listing. The map point comes from Wikidata. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 66000172. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place.