According to a recent ARIZONA DAILY STAR article by Dan Sorenson, these historic adobe buildings of the US Coastal and Geodetic Survey are in danger of being torn down. Some of them are over 100 years old. It's believed that one of the buildings was used to detect tsunamis, making that an historic first. (The current seismic station is located at Saguaro National Park East. )
The observatory was originally established in 1909 to record fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the buildings surviving today were constructed for residences and research, with some of the construction techniques unique in the nation: Only wood and adobe and aluminum nails were used .

If you visit the site, you'll find it enclosed with cyclone fencing in an attempt to keep vandals and the homeless out.

Ken Scoville, a local preservationist, is leading the fight to save them. A decision has yet to be made as to their fate.