Is an observatory strictly for having a permanent scope spot and everything else you need ready to go at a somewhat moment's notice or what are the other advantages? 

thanks,

 big

i guess i should clarify.  i understand it would be totally awesome to have a large shed with a warm room and pc/laptop setup to have the scope on one half of the shed and a separate observation room but i'm working on space limitations.  the doghouse design would probably be more suitable for me but i'm debating on why that would be a better choice than simply spending the few minutes to set up the scope for viewing. 

There are several reasons for having your own observatory other than for the convenience of having your equipment set up and ready to go. A few other reasons would be for durability of the equipment, weather resistance (from rain, snow, and wind), as a shield from neighboring lights (if you have any), and security.

The size of the telescope can also determine if you build an Observatory or not. A friend of mine has an Observatory for his 25"  F5 Obsession. The size of his scope limits his portability due mostly to the vehicles he drives.

He also has a small clam shell roofed Obsevratory for an 8" newtonion on an EQ mount. I this case it its for storage of the equipment, ease of set up, and it also is a good wind break for those windy winter nights.

An Observatory is a personal preference I guess. I like to travel to dark sites and do a lot of public events. I also like to travel to regional star parties. I have converted my pickup truck into basically a mobile Observatory. I roll the scope down the ramps (20" F5 Obsession) set up and start observing. Computers, batteries, inverters, wireless planetarium connection, and all necessary support for the telescope is built in to the  back of the  truck bed (it has a topper). When the telescope is not set up it is stored in the truck.

JJ 

 Why an observatory?

If you live somewhere with light pollution  or the view making use of a telescope zip at best, then it would be a waste of time of course.

An observatory can be as big or small, as simple or complex as a person wants, needs, or can afford.It's a place where your equipment is set up and operational 24 hours a day. Everything is protected from the weather and a place where all the needed accessories are at hand.

 Most people live in towns, so most people don't have decent sky, so most people take their gear to a darker site, so most people don't have an observatory. And I guess some even like to load up their scopes and haul them around the country.

Then there's some of us who live far from towns and have good dark skies, mines about Bortle 1.5 conservatively. My observatory is a 60 foot walk from the house. I roll off the roof, throw a power switch and I'm operating.
 

If your space is limited, and your visibility in certain directions is restricted, then an observatory might not be a good choice for you, personally.

Astrophotographers often spend hours polar aligning their mounts. And, as has been noted, when scopes are large, or heavy, setup often takes longer and leads to increased wear and tear on the equipment.

Anything that can save time in setup/takedown preserves time for observing or imaging, so an observatory, shed, or cover can help.

I do a lot of solar observing and virtually every day I take at least a quick peek in h-alpha at our star. So, I leave one of my EQ mounts setup on a corner of my patio, under a couple of Telegizmos covers and all I have to do it slide the Coronado scope into the saddle, tighten two knobs, turn on the power, and I'm observing. Often I find a nice prominence this way and haul out my laptop and camera, cable it all up, and make some images.

I wish my Homeowner's Association would relent and let me put up a permanent building behind my house, but my yard borders an HoA greenbelt and they're very strict about what you can have outside your house within public view.

Sigh.

   I live in a suburban area.  On good nights, I have Mag 3.5 skies.   My neighbor's car headlights, houselights, etc.. impinge on my yard, as do the freeway lights.  Building the observatory made observing possible!   I no longer worry about stray light on my eyes or scope.  My equipment is all centrally located, and free from wind. 

    While only the brightest nebula are visible, I can enjoy many globular and open clusters, and of course, the moon and planets.

   The convenience of the observatory allows me to observe more often, stay out longer ( I have a warm room and means of removing dew--), and be far more opportunistic of good weather.

  I would say, regardless of where you live, if you can build an observatory--of whatever scope (pun?)--do so.  It can only make things better.

I still dream of having one even under light polluted skies simply because it would be more convienent.  Set up, and then tear down time takes a good hour away from viewing every time I go out.  It would be worth it to obseverve until I was tired, shut off the drive, put away the eyepieces, and then shut the Observatory rather than have to haul all my stuff back inside the house.

l

 I have the same reasons here Leo. I try not to think about the nights of observing I miss because I'm tired, and don't feel like setting up the telescope, dragging extension cords, or moving my equipment trailer to a prime location in the yard before tackling all the setup procedures. Not to mention that the observatory would give me access to more of the night sky than I'm able to see from the back yard.

I like to keep it simple, so at Manzanita Observatory I have a 800 sq ft freeform concrete pad with a wildeness lawn in front to the south and to the north, cut into the hill, a 8'x14' steel shed with an overhead garage door, man door and little window. I just open up the garage door and roll out the 18" split ring equatorial on it's wheels, line it up north, block it and I'm ready to go. I can see into Yosemite from there. I can also move it around the few trees I have. I greatly prefer to not be enclosed in a building when I'm observing. Snow is sometimes an issue, but usually not.