Following the New Town, the Town Council asked Craig to plan the Town its Observatory on Calton hill from 1775 to 1776 and he was then contracted to build it. The new City Observatory on Calton Hill had a gothic tower, now known as Observatory House, which was the only part to be completed before money ran out in 1777. The rest was finally finished in 1792, although this too was replaced, by William Henry Playfair (1790-1857) in 1818.