No permission is needed to visit
the observatory, The Barringer Corp(owns the the area)said "the No
trespassing signs were put up to stop dis-honest folk from
vandalizing the area and that they have no problem with people
visiting the area." Enjoy and Have Fun and use common
sense
This Ruins used to be a gift shop back in the 1940's, & 50's
along the original Rt.66, the owner of the gift shop
D.M. Barringer
charged tourists $0.25 cent to climb the tower to see
Meteor Crater, after the
visitors would arrive at the top of the tower the only thing they
would see was the rim of Meteor Crater. The tourists then had to
drive another 7 miles and pay another $0.25 cent to get a proper
view of Meteor Crater, after a while the owner of the gift shop was
called a rip-off by the local residents. The tower now is the home
and nesting grounds for Ravens.
The Observatory was built by
D.M. Barringer during
the hey-day of Route 66. It has been said that the view from the
observation tower was disappointing. I'm sure the Observatory was
located this far from the impact crater because it was right on
Route 66 and could lure travelers in. "Easy Off - Easy On" even
back then. For 25 cents one could view the crater through a
telescope. All that is left of the observatory today is stone
ruins. Back in the 1940s this was the place to be. It must have
been a pretty exciting place for travelers, if only those stone
walls could talk ~
You can stop at the gas station to see a picture of the shop and
tower when it was in its heyday.
Meteor Crater was
formed about 20,000 years ago from a meteor impact. It is well
worth the side trip to view this natural wonder. Route 66 travelers
felt the same way as this site was listed in Jack Rittenhouse's
Route 66 Guidebook published in 1946.