By facilitating collaborations across disciplines, CARI maximizes the impact of faculty arts research, while enriching the university, local, and regional communities.

The observation room was built with a large central section, capped by a revolving 18-foot (5.5 m) diameter dome.

[1][2][4] The University of Alabama, converted to a military campus at the time, was largely destroyed during a Federal raid led by General John Croxton on April 4, 1865.

The observatory was one of seven buildings on campus that escaped being burned to the ground, although it suffered extensive damage.

The lens had been sent to nearby Bryce Hospital for safekeeping, although parts of the telescope were removed by some of the troops as trophies.