Friends of the Zeiss
Telephone: 412-561-7876
Electronic Mail: < friendsofthezeiss@planetarium.cc
>
Internet Web Site: < http://www.friendsofthezeiss.org
>
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release:
2005 July 11
For more information --
Glenn A. Walsh:
Daytime: E-Mail < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Evening: Telephone 412-561-7876
Historic
Designation of Buhl Planetarium
Subject
of July 13 Public Hearing Before
The public hearing will take place in the City Council
Chamber, on the fifth floor of the
All verbal statements at this
hearing will be limited to no more than three minutes per person. Additional
printed testimony, of any length, may be submitted at the time of the verbal
testimony. For members of the public who cannot
attend the hearing, they may send a short letter supporting the historic designation
of Buhl Planetarium to this e-mail address: < CityhearingBuhl@planetarium.cc
>. All such letters will be submitted to City Council at the public hearing.
The Buhl Planetarium and
Ø First
planetarium projector placed on an elevator, to increase flexibility in the
Theater of the Stars;
Ø First
planetarium theater which included a permanent theatrical stage;
Ø First
planetarium theater (and, perhaps, first
theater) to install a special sound system specifically for the hearing impaired—remember,
this was in 1939 !;
Ø First
publicly-owned building in the City (and, possibly, the State) constructed with
air-conditioning;
Ø First
permanent Siderostat Telescope specifically designed for public use;
Ø First
regional Science Fair for school students
(from 26 counties in
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News Release: City Council Hearing on
Historic Nomination of Buhl Planetarium
2005
July 11 Page 2
of 2
Additionally, for more than 53 years, Buhl Planetarium
housed an exhibit that was considered the largest Mercator’s Projection Map in
the world! And, the Zeiss II Planetarium Projector, which operated as the
primary educational instrument of The Buhl Planetarium and
Designation as a City-Designated
Historic Structure, which was first proposed in 1989 (Buhl Planetarium’s 50th
anniversary), would mean that the Buhl Planetarium building cannot be
demolished, or the exterior altered, without approval of the Historic Review
Commission of Pittsburgh. The Old Allegheny Post Office and the Allegheny
Regional Branch of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, both buildings beside
Buhl Planetarium on the North Side, are already City-Designated Historic
Structures.
Such designation does not protect
the interior of the building, or furnishings, equipment, or artifacts in the
building, nor does any law exist for their protection. Nor does designation
require that the owner or lessee continue operations in the building. The Buhl
Planetarium building is owned by the City of
In the Spring, both the Historic
Review Commission and the City Planning Commission, unanimously, recommended
that City Council approve Buhl Planetarium as a historic landmark. In February,
both the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and the Children’s
The public can
read more about this historic nomination, including viewing the historic
nomination application in its entirety, by going to either of these Internet
web sites:
< http://www.friendsofthezeiss.org
> or < http://www.planetarium.cc
>
The public can
obtain more information regarding the public hearing or the historic nomination
by electronic mail: < CityhearingBuhl@planetarium.cc
> or by telephone: 412-561-7876.
Gene Ricciardi, President of Pittsburgh City Council (who
schedules all City Council hearings), chose the perfect day for a Buhl
Planetarium hearing. Shortly after the hearing (at
Created in 2002, Friends of the
Zeiss is a non-profit organization working to preserve the history and heritage
of the building, equipment, and artifacts of
--30 –
Glenn A. WalshElectronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Internet, World Wide Web Sites -