5. A daylight view of the east face of DU's historic Chamberlin Observatory. Home, Previous image, Next image.
MORE HISTORY: Because much of Humphrey Chamberlin's wealth was in real estate (and because in 1890 Denver real estate seemed a secure investment) both Saegmuller and Clark agreed to accept some of Chamberlin's land holdings as part of their payment. But as so often happens in boom towns, Denver was headed for a bust. It was silver, then Colorado's leading industry, that took the shine out of Denver's golden age. In 1890, the federal government began to subsidize the silver industry by agreeing to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver per month. But in the uncertain economic times of 1893, Washington could no longer afford the silver and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed. The price of silver plummeted, resulting in the Silver Panic of 1893. Within two years, half of Denver's banks failed and more than 300 of the city's 600 realtors were out of business. In 1890, over 2,300 new building permits had been issued in Denver. In 1894, there were only 124 requests for permits.
Humphrey Chamberlin's thriving real estate business was one of the many casualties of the Silver Panic. On July 13, 1893, with several payments still due on the telescope, Chamberlin wrote to Howe that he was "completely wiped out." Moreover, the value of the property given to Clark and Saegmuller as partial payment had already undergone a rapid decline. Earlier, Saegmuller wrote Howe that, "...a crater on the moon would do me more good as I would not be taxed on that."
As payments on the telescope fell behind, Howe and Chamberlin agreed to compensate Saegmuller by allowing him to keep the finished telescope for a time. Saegmuller used the opportunity to display his handiwork at Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Thus, delivery of the telescope was delayed for several months and it was not until June 13, 1894 that Saegmuller shipped it to Denver. As for the lens, Howe was so concerned about its safety that he personally transported the 150- pound cell by train from Cambridge to Denver in a private Pullman berth.
Throughout the summer and fall of 1894, Howe divided what little time he had left after performing his duties as Dean between getting the telescope assembled and assuring its builders that he would find some way to pay them the money still owed them. Although the University helped as much as it could, some of the amount due eventually came out of Howe's meager salary.
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