charitable corporation, some parties to the 2012 five-party OMB settlement argued that the donation placed the future of the observatory in doubt, because RASC was not a government agency. In March 2016, the dispute was resolved through transfer of ownership of the property to the town of Richmond Hill. On 20 July 2016, the RASC-TC declined to continue negotiations to lease the property for exclusive use and to continue to provide outreach programs at the heritage site. This led to the Town inviting proposals from 35 organizations to continue programming and maintenance of the site. Five applicants submitted proposals, including the York Region Astronomical Association (members of the RASC-TC who had been using, maintaining and programming the site), the RASC-TC, and the DDOD. In October 2016, the Town of Richmond Hill approved a master plan to turn of the Observatory lands into a "destination park", for astronomical outreach programs, while adding recreational amenities such as walking paths, 4 tennis courts, an amphitheatre and a low-light level "Star Path" self-illuminating pathway. A feasibility study for a planetarium on the site was also intended. The project is expected to cost $54 million over 15–20 years. In October 2017, the Town announced it would pursue a joint partnership with the RASC-TC and the DDOD to continue to provide educational and public outreach programming, ending the interim programming provided by the YRAA. Contemporaries The DDO main instrument was the second-largest telescope in the world when it began operation in 1935. Some of the largest telescopes in 1935 were: Later in the 1930s, an 82-inch telescope was completed at McDonald Observatory in Texas. By the end of the next decade Dunlap's was still the fourth largest, due to the opening of the Hale Telescope in 1948. However, the telescope has remained the largest telescope in Canada until 1992, when the somewhat unique UBC-Laval LMT 2.65 m (104 in) came online. However, the LMT is a zenith telescope that only points up, using a liquid metal mirror. In popular culture The Observatory is featured multiple times in the NBC television series Hannibal. The administration building resembles the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. The Observatory is also featured on the Netflix production of The Umbrella Academy. See also Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory York University Observatory List of astronomical observatories in Canada List of observatories References Citations Bibliography Further reading The Cold Light of Dawn: