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Form No. 10-300 (Rev. 10-74) ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM DATA SHEET eornpsuseonlv receiveoAUG 151977 DATE entered F£8 17 1978 SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS Oname HISTORIC Venus Hill ANO/OR COMMONMafolie Observatory, Venus Pillar ^location . STREETS NUMBER l/- No. 2AB Estate Mafolie —NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN Charlotte Amal ie JLvicinityof CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 1 U.S. Virgin Islands COUNTY . CODE St. Thomas 0900 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY —DISTRICT —BUILDING(S) —STRUCTURE JUlSITE —OBJECT OWNERSHIP —PUBLIC JIprivate —BOTH PUBLIC ACQUISITION —IN PROCESS —BEING CONSIDERED STATUS JfocCUPIED —UNOCCUPIED —WORK IN PROGRESS ACCESSIBLE ILyES: RESTRICTED —YES: UNRESTRICTED —NO PRESENT USE —AGRICULTURE —MUSEUM —COMMERCIAL —PARK —EDUCATIONAL X-PRIVATE RESIDENCE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION __MILITARY —OTHER: I OWNER OF PROPERTY Arthur Witty NAME STREET & NUMBER ________No 2^B Mafolie CITY, TOWN Charlotte Amalie VICINITY OF STATE Virgin Islands LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION Recorder of Deeds COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS,ETC. STREET & NUMBER Government House CITY. TOWN Charlotte Amalie QREPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE STATE Virgin Islands DATE Virgin Islands Inventory June 1977 —FEDERAL XSTATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR ^ SURVEYRECORDS Virgin Islands Planning Office CITY, TOWN St. Thomas STATE U-S. Virgin IcIanHc DESCRIPTION CONDITION -EXCELLENT _DETERIORATED 2Lgood —FAIR —RUINS —UNEXPOSED CHECK ONE X.UNALTERED —ALTERED CHECK ONE —ORIGINAL SITE —MOVED DATE- DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE A geodetic monument marks the exact site of the 1882 St. Thomas observations of the transit of Venus. The monument is a 13.5' high oblisk with a pyramid cap constructed of rubble masonry covered with a fine sand stucco. The original instrument station , a 31" x 29.5" marble tablet with four stabilizjng holes, has been placed on the north face of the oblisk and contains the following inscriptions; Passagem de Venus Dezembro 6 the 1882 Commissao Braziieria Barao the Teffe Calheiros da Graca Indio do Brazil Late 18“ - 21' - 3" n Longe 21“ - 1|5' - 37" 0 (Rio de Janeiro) JAM Schlesinger St. Thomas, D.W.1, ■ a i M i V . .' The original site, a cleared eminence was modified during World War I to accommodate a gun mount. Later the site was incorporated into the south terrace of a residence. The oblisk is well maintained, in excellent condition with the exception of a few small Portland cement patches. o I: ■ ■ ■ vv . ,''j • n - 5. - ' ... a>nB? a I IV ^ ■ ' ,,3- li: ^' ■f'- - -f■ ■■■ •/Tc:\3va} sl-n-fz’ n! r 't" *)0: ■'S i, •"'.'I -'f ■ SIGNIFICANCE •rxM r ■’A .1 PERIOD —PREHISTORIC- —1400-1499 —1500-1599 —1600-1699 —1700-1799 _Xl 800-1899 —1900- areas OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW —ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC —COMMUNITY PLANNING. -LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE —ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC —AGRICULTURE —ARCHITECTURE __ART —COMMERCE —COMMUNICATIONS —CONSERVATION —ECONOMICS —EDUCATION —ENGINEERING —LAW —LITERATURE —EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT —INDUSTRY —MILITARY —MUSIC —PHILOSOPHY —POLITICS/GOVERNMENT —RELIGION .. . XsCIENCE —SCULPTURE —S0CIAL7HUMANITARIAN —THEATER —TRANSPORTATION —OTHER (SPECIFY) —INVENTION SPECIFIC DATES BUILDER/ARCHITECT STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The site is used during the transit of Venus is visible as a occurred in 1761 in 200k and 2012 and in attempts distance between significant as the location of a major astronomical station 1882 international observations of the transit of Venus. A occurs when the planet passes in front of the sun's disk and small dark spot in front of the sun. Transits of Venus « 1769, 187^, and 1882. The next transits of Venus will occur Transits of Venus have been used to fix geographic positions to determine solar parallax or what is equivalent the mean the earth and the sun. The 1882 Brazilian expedition to St. Thomas was one of a coordinated international effort that had begun during the I872 transit. The Brazilians established their station of the heights above Charlotte Amalie with an exceptional field of view. Observations and calculations were accomplished by Barao de Teffe, Captain Francisco Calheiros da Graca, and Lieutenant Arthur Indio do Brasil. A definite report of the expedition and its results was compiled and published by the Imperial Observatory of Rio do Janeiro in I887. Because of its importance the specific site of the observation was marked by a masonry obiisk. - - ■J-. ■ .1^ , ' Omajor bibliographical references 1. Annales de 1'Observatofre Imperial de Rio de Joheriro, Tom 3 (Rio de Janeiro: 18B7) pp 35-l8o. 2. McGuire, James William, Geographic Dictionary of the Virgin Islands of the United States, USC £ GS Special Publication No. 103, (Washington: 1925 p. 193i EQgeographical data ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY Less than One acre UTM REFERENCES 18** 2T 12" 65’ 55' ^6" II J I . i > 1 . . NORTHING ZONE EASTING .................... cl . I I I ■ I ■ . I I ■ I . I ■ . I bI , I I I , ZONE EASTING dLtJ II.- North Latitude West Longitude J I . I . I . . } j__ I VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION NORTHING J I ■ I . I The site is located at the above referenced coordinate on a small eminence 807 feet high, inmediately north of Charlotte Amalie in Estate Mafolie on what is now the south terrace of a residence. The overall site is 20' X 2-' square. LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE N/A CODE COUNTY STATE CODE COUNTY CODE CODE |FORM PREPARED BY NAME/TITLE Virgin Islands Hitoric Survey Annie Hillary, Jane Mrmion, Thomas W. Richards ORGANIZATION Virgin Islands Planning Office DATE STREETS. NUMBER P.O. Box 2606 , . TELEPHONE (809) 774-1730 CITY OR TOWN St. Thomas STATE Virgin Islands Estate historic preservation officer certification NATIONAL THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: XX STATE. LOCAL. As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criterta^^procedures set for orj^by Park Service. STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE TITLE Director of Planning FbRNPS USE ONLY I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONALREGISTER DATEt5" /fcyCc)/" ill DATE ^ 1 'sll:- .:-V ... . Te^. UdjU ^ jfl, ^0 i- 6 rA. State Y, ^^7-yji-f ^ TECHNICA Photos Maps f /7. ^ c fi-'C-i.-- -—1 ^TV-C-^I.-^VVV' ^€1 •'— •■^ ■ '' :^ (\/’^:^^ /if^ (..‘/tci:/ t >, 1» < /<■ t.-,^ V /(:.jt. f i ,<.t '^^.■■4 I", r . J> ___/C^. CjiA. t> /• •/ ~L* /*- -A,A- t.'/I ^ ^ ^^-^HISTORIAN . ---- --------------- --------- -r X ,'3-/^^/^, / to f. *-, v ;> j! \ t'*^ /*r ^ A * ‘'Z —' 0^ ^ jgi*<A«iMM>ewkf iv4-^^bv\ t^«M^ dc >Tr9i<«*£Lo nO- ____ **^''|[|Si3ZA- Ci>r^V^«*£Lo *Atc ? ARCmTECTURAL, HISTORIAN io lC»lS.’7^ 6«uuC - (U-fc^ |)M^rgULwXL Htw>c. <^^f~k- S<«.«w\.lnt^ vj*/wO^ tt*-» «V* Sy>w»\C<» o ’’ '“—— Cow^bA. l*rfUA U*4\WVW*^ . Wn%-tovtAAiva=>vvv«^, tz..it..r7 “ ARCHEOLOGIST OTHER HAER Inventory Review X 0-^«‘ \>-r>eJ2ej VvJI Jttj)0 Ua^ILa. oeK-«I". REVIEW UNIT CHIEF O-CCA^ •te luirw) cOe»A j2»X*tk4M C* ^ ^ (>,Ci<UAdl/ujtL Vvu^a^^(W>^ ^ u)f^; Va/baxa**^^ BRANCH CHIEF ;iAx£zr^ ’Z-P'^ 7S KEEPER r^sJtA -{A ^ 2/17/75 National Register Write-up _________ Send-back Federal Register Entry Y' H'~4^.- Re-submit Entered f£B 17 1978 IN T :2 t 06. 74 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No. 7 #7 • ^ » 7>!) ■ \'-7^:ijyom /a(/2v) df Tik kalavdyhj/jAi, M )k dcyu6c ■ kjpa'^'hji'/-///' ff. 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It, I'Md iy n f^fdiliXiu:>i M/iY u?7l 2t- d.^Uy/a^ fc M-Hdi-iy dui^M^Aut Hoiuo. ?JYfio y/M.j h\Yki 7A?sUYMiloid. du,itiy)in) JidLiii) aj//7'Uj7j{yL fj Qjyu ijj 'i/d. l[/t(ic)?> YJu^ . d/M hwnhpiid /)K ^ -/j-uy/jh//j Mic .t/Th/fAd iu tin o/i -//'i/ A'ldi/'iLf Y/id ]pQy^oM}jyr/y f/y'Y />imL l7rJ~//di> ‘'ii ^ ' '• t' ^djsi J7'\ //'lit' CfJldiiinx^d/ulf 7UiuY iM l {Yf)^]^j}n( ^pJni/prr/ x ivcM aic 7?iiu^ay -^971^, /)T>i(M-rLt9 y//W, t?/v>t Mff^^iAi }j on( /y)C*)S7 inl^sc^- it tii9 Pnt ill y^C- ^ ^ci-^irJ/)ittcJ ''iliC 0 i ^ infudl fs ^v'C/';>■<?./;l iJd cfnUnT^, • ^lU fu'iU cii/i-uP i/LC iu-aA a^}//^)htiliif ten 'iitil)vL)kf./ f 0nJ D1 ct?^OdilclAy ^ (A (d- r-y\£-nl ^txviM iULp"A'/<:f /a? 'A ^Cjarcf-itc/LLt) jiuu'’ %k}] MrJ^lpsimi fmit Odd try 7M>')^ / •■ n' , ild (7/c) A.\chyiii'iL Y dr'J d( tn Jk PiiMyyr'dA/'' i'd77^ tk y^ri^ tu) ^J <tu: -kuc:kU^-' ‘[)}yi ‘'/\k11 Pi /ijiu ^i it Audiichnyi lid V yyin- y 'jd itP /lA J^tkilLi dUhtM • Cl'>y^ diJui e?} y^tii i ikmPi'J lid deli7ic flkj Haa fu d »i c?/ / Pin ) lud y (ju Jujiy ^1/ uuM Ojjin lil Uylkx ttc yk ikALvk• V /'' Y iVU^ diiuxhPiiiv \0" : '' 7 .... :fe jiri--i .•y;' ENTRIES IN THE • NATIONAL REGISTER ■i ■t •r- •• .• .............. ■ 'mi STATE VIRGIN ISLANDS r : ^ wvi Date Entered FEB 17 1978 V ■ . Name MafollA &teat Bousft Vftftas Hill Estate Pexsefverasca Bafeasight Estate Hogansborg Estate Prosperity Estate Bmiat Victory BHS Saata Kcmiea Estate Heltjeberg Hon, Eon De Lugo Regional Director, Southeast Region 886 Mott/js 3/1/78 Location Charlotte Analia vicinity St* Thomas Island Charlotte Aaalle vicinity St* Thomas Island COiarlotte Aaalle viclxiity St* Thomas Island Charlotte Amalie vicinity St* Thotaas Island Christlansted vicinity St. Croix laland ytederlksted vicinity St* Croix Island Vrederlksted vicinity St* Croix Island Coral Bay vicinity St* John's Island Charlotte Amalie 8t« Thomas Island Also Notified mm )mm) -8 Mm ■ . -V* m ,vs4 State Historic Preservation Officer Kr. Thomas Blake Planning Director, Virgin Islands Planning Board Charlotte Amalie 8t, Thomas, Virgin Islands 00301 ■■ ■■#! ■ i ■ f 4 -4 [I)NAME as it appears on federal register; Venus Hill_______________________ (5)LOCATION street & number city / town Raofihly 1/3 wrirt N of Charlotte NATIONAL REGISTER DATA SHEET (gjOTHER NAMES; Jlafolle Observatory; Venus Pillar !state! of entry: I n i97d county code 0900 vicinity (V" Charlotte Amalie V.I. county St. Thomas I OWNER ^psiait USUTE □municipal DCOUNTt DMULTiPLE □ FEOERAKagency name)_ EXISTING SURVEYS DHABS Ghaer □nhiI@funded-> Grts Gno (§)congress district 1st MATtMALiUimR mtlOltR 8l$1«lgn Ons §>«......... .................. —- Site UM5»A)I1(? □ n$. IttML i@SOURCEol NOMINATION (gNPS REGION southeastern ® ADMINISTRATOR;, INSTATE n FEDERAL, if state wlio piepared form’ ^CONDITION □ excellent □ good □ fair □ deteriorated □ ruins □ unexposed □ unexeavated □ altered □ unaltered O reconstructed □ excavated □ original site □ moved □unknown less than 1 □ local DPRIVATE ORGAilZATION @£eatures; GSUBSIANriALLT INLACT-1 |^□SUBSTANTiALLY INTACT-2 ^ GSUBSTANTIALLY INTACT - 3 2Gnot intact-o "nUMRMOWM-4 ?DM0T APPLICABLE-? 2g not INTACT-O "G unknown-5 3GN0T APPLICABLE-8 OGNOT intact -o >□ UNKNOWN-6 2g NOT APPLICABLE - 9 (^ACCESS DVES-Restricted □ YES-Unrestricted □ No Access □ Unknown ®ADAPTIVEUSE OTESaND^ SAVED? DYES IS PRO PERT V A H I STOR 1C DISTRICT? □ yes □ no 0 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE : □ ARCHEOLOGY-piehistoric-2 □ COMMERCE-6 □ ARCHEOLOGY-hisloric-1 □ AGRICULTURE-3 □ ARCHITECTURE-4 □ ART-5 □ COMMUNICATIONS-? □ CONSERVATION-B □ ECONOMICS-9 □ EDUCATION-10 □ ENGINEERING-n □ ENTERTAINMENT-26 □ EXPLORATION -12 □ MEALTH-27 □ INDUSTRV-13 □ INYENTION-14 □ LANDSCAPE ARCH.- 15 □ LAW-16 □ LITERATURE-17 □ MILITARY- 18 □ MUSIC- 19 □ PHILOSOPHY-20 □ POLITICS/GOVT.-21 DRECRLATION -28 □ REllGION-22 □SETTLEMENT-29 □ SCIENCE- 23 DURBAN PLANNING-31 □ SOCIAL/HUMAMITARIAN-24 □ OTHER (SPECIFY) □ SOCIAL /CULTURAL-30 _____________ _ □ TRANSPORTATION-25 CLAIMS , explain first’□ ‘oldest’ □ ‘only’ □ ^functions when HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: CURRENTLY: ^dates ol initial construction: major alterations: historic events: jETHNIC GROUP ' ASSOCIATION ^architectural style(s) ^architect: ^master builder: ^engineer: ^ landscape architect / garden designer: 0 interior decorator: ^ artist: partisan; ^builder/oontractor; 0NAMES give role & date '^PERSONAL: events: INSTITUTIONAL: ^NATIONAL REGISTER WRITE-UP reviewers initials. .date. IIP ADDITIONAL SPACE NEEDED, NUMBER & PUT ON REVERSEI