Archive photo from a period when the tower served as an amateur astonomical observatory, the first and most prominent one to be set up amongst the villas of Prinkipo, at a time when it was considered a gentlemanly pursuit.

This amateur observatory was used by the local Greek of the island Eugenios Mihail Antoniadis whose work in Büyükada and initial publications led him to be invited to France for his work on and became a world-renowned expert scientist. At a young age, he was accepted into the French Astronomical Society in 1891 for his work on Mars and Mercury. He became vice president of an observatory near Paris in France. In 1896, he was elected president of the Mars section of the British Astronomical Society. His work revolutionized theories previously developed. Today, a crater on the Moon bears his name, and a mountain on Mercury bears his name. The maps he prepared for Mars were used until the Space Age. He is recognized as the world's foremost authority on Mars. The observation techniques he developed are still used today.
Antoniadis is one of the most renowned astronomers in the world. Yet, on Büyükada and Istanbul, his name is largely forgotten.