[1] The Catalina Station site was selected by Gerard P. Kuiper of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at the University of Arizona in 1960.

He believed that a slightly higher location than an alternate site at Kitt Peak National Observatory would be better for LPL's purposes, and Mt.

Bigelow was both higher and easily accessible from the University of Arizona via the Catalina Highway.

In 1969 a 40-inch reflector was erected near Site II, adjacent to a FAA transmitter.

In 1978, the site was transferred from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory to the Steward Observatory.