The William Baehr Observatory was built there for Baehr, a wealthy Chicago businessman who took up part-time residence at his ranch in the foothills in the 1920s. Jefferson County Open Space now owns the ranch, making it accessible to the public for hiking, fishing, picnicking and educational programs offered through the Lookout Mountain Nature Centre. An amateur astronomer, Baehr commissioned a custom 1937 6-inch refractor telescope and had the observatory installed to house it. The observatory was built using narrow-gauge railroad tracks and wheels, as well as parts of a Model A car to turn the dome. It still contains all of the original equipment.