My high school buddy, Elliot Hartford, and I were very fortunate to have the opportunity to exclusively inhabit and work within Ford Observatory during the Summer of 1971. This was a direct result of work done on a new cold camera design at the Mahwah Observatory. The extreme sensitivity of the cold camera required darker skies to record faint celestial objects than was possible from my observatory near New York City. Mt Wilson superintendent, Larry Bornhurst, graciously offered use of Ford Observatory, a two-story private domed observatory at an elevation of 7473ft (34deg N) in the Angeles National Forest, about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The observatory had a wooden dome until August, 1972, when a metal Ash dome replaced the wood dome. The observatory housed a massive 18-inch f/7 Newtonian telescope upstairs and had sleeping quarters, galley, and darkroom down below. The cold camera was successfully tested, utilizing dry ice (acquired from nearby Table Mountain Observatory – thanks to astronomer James W. Young) using my 10-inch Newtonian telescope at this site, transported via VW van from New Jersey. Best proof images included Andromeda Galaxy and Veil Nebula. Links about Ford Observatory and logbook, including my entries and notable names, are listed below the images.
https://www.aavso.org/clinton-ford-observatory\
https://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/images/FD1971.pdf