PROSPECT – Although a stretch of rain in July may have deterred some visitors, interest in the Penobscot Narrows Observatory has nevertheless remained high this summer.

The number of visitors was down in July, but overall this summer visits to the observatory are slightly higher than last year, the first year the observatory was open, according to Tim Hall, regional manager for the Bureau of Parks and Lands, which manages Fort Knox and the observation tower.

“We were doing really well until the last 13 days of rain,” Hall said Sunday.

Combined visits to Fort Knox and the observatory are down overall through July, according to Leon Seymour, the executive director of the Friends of Fort Knox. The Friends group, which staffs the entrance booth and provides interpretive services and tours of the fort, tracks visits to both the fort and the observatory as part of its contract with the Department of Conservation.

Total visits to the fort through July were 41,225, down about 5.4 percent from last year’s attendance of 43,650. Attendance at the observatory during the three months this season was 31,731, slightly higher than last year’s attendance of 31,054.

Seymour pointed out that the observatory opened on May 1 this year, about three weeks earlier than last year, which may account for the slight increase.

“Four dollar-a-gallon gasoline is certainly a factor,” he said. “I don’t think that has affected travel from southern Maine much, but it’s had an impact on southern New England. And the rain doesn’t help.”

The figures reflect the income at both the fort and the observatory, according to Seymour. Reflecting the additional three weeks the observatory has been open this year, income for the Department of Transportation, which operates the observatory itself, is up about $5,000, he said. Income at the fort, however, is down about 10.1 percent, he said.

According to Seymour, the DOT has committed funds to market the observation tower and already has produced brochures designed to attract new visitors. The Friends group worked with the department to distribute some of those brochures, he said.

In addition, the DOT plans to use cable television to market the observatory to the southern Maine market.

“They’re trying to market to southern Maine where there are still a lot of people who are not aware of this tremendous attraction and its value as a vacation experience,” he said. “Marketing is important in order to build interest and reach out and bring them through the door and pay your way.”

The Friends special events have helped to attract people to the fort. The two-day Psychic and Paranormal Fair earlier this summer resulted in the two highest attendance days this year, Seymour said.

The observatory itself has planned special “Full Moon Madness” nights which keep the observatory open at night during nights of the full moon. Rain kept attendance down earlier this year, but another full moon event is planned for this month and the DOT has added another “harvest moon event” for September.

The next full moon falls on Aug. 16.

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

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