Built in 1932, the Henry M. Robinson Laboratory of Astrophysics at Caltech was designed by the firm of Mayers Murray & Phillip (formerly Goodhue Associates). They collaborated with Russell W. Porter, noted designer of telescopes and observatories in the early twentieth century.

An elegant, monumental structure, the laboratory building uniquely blends elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival style with celestial and solar motifs, down to original light fixtures depicting starbursts and signs of the zodiac. It beautifully conveys its original function, with fine decorative details and stencil decoration by renowned artisans A.T. Heinsbergen and Company.

The laboratory housed Caltech's astronomers and astrophysicists for nearly eighty years. Among countless achievements made here, Caltech co-founder and renowned astrophysicist George Ellery Hale led the construction of the 200-inch telescope on Mount Palomar.

In 2008, Caltech began transforming the building into the new Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science, devoted to developing solutions to the world's complex environmental problems. The remarkable rehabilitation and restoration earned the project a Conservancy Preservation Award in 2012.