The Drake Municipal Observatory is dedicated to Daniel Walter Morehouse, Ph.D., astronomer and physicist of Drake University. The facility is also the burial site of Dr. Morehouse and his wife Myrtle. The observatory was made possible by the cooperation of the City of Des Moines and Drake University. The city furnished the ground (0.23 acres) and the funds to build the observatory. The university furnished the scientific instruments, displays, and staff. Constructed in 1920-21, the building stands on the highest ground in the city of Des Moines. The architecture is classic of the severe Grecian type and the structure is T shaped in plan. Construction is load-bearing masonry with reinforced concrete floors and roof. The operable copper dome at the center of the building houses the main telescope. The exterior of the structure is gray Bedford lime stone.