Fifty-five years ago this month, John Glenn became the first astronaut to circle the globe in his Mercury capsule Friendship 7.

Before Glenn passed away in December at the age of 95, he agreed to lend his name to the John Glenn Observatory and Astronomy Park.

"That took me almost a year to get in touch with him. He thought it was a terrific idea. The educational value he thought was terrific," Clyde Gosnell, a member of the Friends of Hocking Hills, said.

Construction of the $1.4 million park is scheduled to open by this fall. It will be built on a patch of land west of the Old Man's Cave along State Route 664.

Lucia Hoehneof M+A architects designed the park.

"This was an idea that started 12 years ago," she said.

It's plaza, which is 80 feet in diameter, will contain a sundial, and floating celestial fountain.

Large stone towers will frame the views of the sun, highlighting its orientation at different times of the year.

"The diameter of the plaza is the diameter of the sun so it's a teaching tool," she said.

This building will house two telescopes. It's not a dome like some observatories. The entire roof slides open along two metal rails.

"This is another way to do it you have a roof over these beams and the entire area is open to the sky," she said.

Organizers chose the site near Old Man's Cave because it's 1,500 feet high, and the location happens to have the darkest sky in the state.

The Columbus Astronomical Society is also helping fund the project. Both Ohio State University and Ohio University plan to conduct research there.

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John Glenn Observatory and Astronomy Park to open later this year - 10TV