Observatory will be closed to visitors for summer, reopen next year The Patriot Ledger Water-damaged walls, crumbling concrete and cracked windows will soon be a thing of the past at the Blue Hill Observatory. The observatory, located in a 113-year-old concrete tower in the Blue Hills Reservation on the Canton-Milton line, will be closed to the public this summer as it undergoes a $2 million renovation, the first major upgrade since 1999. Walls will be repaired, new concrete poured and exhibits expanded, but executive director Charles Orloff promises that weather observers "won't miss a beat." The roof of the three-story observatory tower is covered in equipment, including a weather vane and an anemometer, which measures wind speed and direction.