re: Old telescopes, new ones and scientists who wonder where to work
There are indeed many old telescopes that are more or less abandoned.
Some scientists and amateurs worry and decide to do something about it and there are solutions.
For instance, the Pic du Midi is attracting more and more tourists but it's not in favor of amateur astronomers , it's for everyone and it does affect observations.
The OHP was dying, but thanks to the Elodie spectroscope that discovered the first exoplanet 10 years ago, it has a lease of live.
There are many observatories (more and more affected by light pollution) and there also are instruments that can be very specialized and might not always need a perfectly dark sky.