A new source of funding for astronomy stemmed from the creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1950. Astronomers were quick to take advantage of the opportunities this provided to found new observatories.

The science and politics of the establishment, funding, construction and operation of the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), are here, seen from the unique perspective of Frank K. Edmondson, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Indiana University and a former member of the AURA Board of Directors. AURA was asked to manage the Sacramento Peak Observatory (SPO) in 1976, and in 1982 the National Solar Observatory (NSO) was formed by merging the NSO and the KPNO solar programs. KPNO, CTIO and NSO were combined in 1983 to form the National Astronomy Observatories (NOAO). In 1981 NASA chose AURA to establish and operate the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).

This is a personal account of a period of major innovation in American optical astronomy.