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 opportunity 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, a former member of the AURA board of directors.