David Peck Todd’s Amherst College–An Architecture & Walking Tour
December 2 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The Amherst Historical Society devoted its 2023 exhibition to Mabel Loomis Todd, focusing on her skills as a botanical artist, writer, editor, and civic leader. She was devoted to her husband, David, and traveled with him as he pursued an active career as a professor of astronomy at Amherst College. He traveled to distant lands in Europe, South America, and Asia to pursue astronomical phenomena. A crater on Phobos (a satellite of Mars) and an asteroid are named after him. Mabel Loomis Todd edited some of his scientific papers and wrote an extended narrative of their trip to Japan.
What buildings on the Amherst College campus would David Todd have known? Thanks to Blair Kamin’s book, Amherst College: An Architectural Tour, we now know the buildings that were central to his experience from his undergraduate days to the time of his retirement. On Saturday, December 2, join the Historical Society’s president, Gigi Barnhill, as we walk in David’s footsteps to visit the buildings that were part of his life in Amherst. We’ll discuss the architecture, the College’s successful reuse of many of the buildings, and aspects of David’s career. We will be able to enter several of the buildings and explore the campus at our own pace. The tour will conclude with a visit to The Dell, David and Mabel Todd’s home.