My doctoral research (developed between 2007 and 2010) focused on the foundation and early history of the Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon (AOL), nowadays one of the University of Lisbon’s heritage sites, and a splendidly preserved exemplar of a nineteenth-century astrometric observatory. My project was originally centred around instrumentation and its several meanings in the foundation and development of a national observatory (prior to its inclusion in the University in the early 1990s, the AOL functioned as Portugal’s national observatory). Looking for a place where I could gain a broader perspective on such matters, I was fortunate to have my project accepted at Oxford and be supervised by Prof. Jim Bennett of the Oxford Museum of the History of Science (MSH). Prior to my Oxonian stay, I had worked at the AOL as an outreach officer, thus I knew well its magnificent spaces, where visitors can experience the ambience of nineteenth-century astronomical practice - with the old meridian instruments and clocks in place, inside a building designed to accommodate a sophisticated apparatus into an exquisite temple of science. MHS habitués are certainly familiar with the great astronomical instruments displayed in its main galleries, which include a mural quadrant, a zenith tube and a Herschel reflector. As soon as I started to wonder how scientific life used to be organized around these “detached” instruments I realized how helpful it was see the AOL instruments in their original settings. More than offering a wider insight on the apparatus, experiencing the spaces where historical instruments were formerly put into use provides important clues on several aspects concerning the codes, practices and routines that shaped the institutional life in which they were embedded. In the summer of 2008 I had the chance to complement my on-going research with an internship at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG), with a short-term project on the evolution of the ROG’s buildings and their adaptation to scientific purposes. This was an enriching experience as the ROG sports finely preserved and/or reconstructed observing settings, and overall its complex of buildings and observing structures documents the evolution of the modern observatory qua spatial setting. Reflecting on these experiences and their impact in my doctoral research, I will briefly sketch some thoughts on (i) the preservation and reconstruction of historical observatories, (ii) their potential for historical research and graduate training, and (iii) universities’ involvement in the development of such activities.