From wikipedia:
"The 150-foot-diameter (46 m) Dish was built in 1961 by the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International)
The cost to construct the antenna was $4.5 million, and was funded by the United States Air Force."

The dish is maintained by SRI International for research, including communicating with satellites like those from NASA.

From an early morning hike at Foothill Nature Preserve.