Dale Perrett
Director of General Services
Room 526, City - County Office Building
414 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Dear Mr. Perrett,
As per my conversation with Chet Malesky, I am writing to advise
you of the current status of the artifacts from the old Buhl
Planetarium building (Zeiss II Star Projector, Siderostat Telescope
and 1939 World Seaport Map), which are owned by the City of
Pittsburgh, and now in the care of the Carnegie Science Center.
All three artifacts continue to be in protective storage in CSC's North
Shore warehouse, known as the Miller Building. All of the artifacts
are stored together in a single storage room and no other unrelated
items are stored in this area.
The storage area mentioned above is concrete lined and secured by
padlock. The area is only accessible with the permission of CSC
management. This room is located on the first floor at the west-end
of the Miller Building. This area is approximately six (6) feet above
the 100-year flood plain. The artifacts have been stored in this area -
and only in this area - since their arrival at CSC.
During the recent local flooding, caused by the remnants of hurricane
Ivan, there was no flooding of any kind in this area. In fact, the area
where the artifacts are stored has never experienced leaks or
flooding. The artifacts are completely protected, and have
experienced no damage whatsoever. As we agreed when CSC
received the artifacts, representatives of the City are welcome to
inspect the artifacts and storage arrangements at any time.
As you know, CSC's expansion plans and Final Frontier exhibit as
envisioned two years ago have been delayed. However, as the City is
also aware, we are now renewing planning and design work in
relation to the developments with the light rail plans for the North
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Shore. We remain fully committed to the restoration and display of
the artifacts as envisioned in our agreement with the City.
At the time that we took possession of the artifacts we envisioned
having these items on display by the end of 2005. While we have not
locked a timetable in place, our recent delays have put us
approximately one year behind schedule. This means that we are
looking at a 2006 date. As soon as our redesign plans are complete,
we will be able to provide a more solid schedule for completion of
the work.
I hope that the information above answers your questions and I
would be happy to provide any additional information that you may
require.
Sincerely,
John G. Radzilowicz
Director of Visitor Experience
[The Carnegie Science Center; Mr. Radzilowicz is also Planetarium Director]
Cc: Chet Malesky, City of Pittsburgh
[This letter, without letterhead or numbered pages, was provided to Glenn A. Walsh by City Councilman Bill Peduto's Aide, Missy, early in the meeting of the weekly Legislative Session of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh on 2004 October 5 (which, coincidentally, was the 13th anniversary of The Carnegie Science Center). Later in the meeting, Bill Peduto made a public report of this letter's findings (including the statement "The Zeiss is safe and dry."), during the public City Council meeting (during the segment of "Unfinished Business"), as had originally beeen requested by Mr. Walsh's 2004 September 20 written request to Mr. Peduto. Following Mr. Peduto's report, City Councilman Doug Shields concurred with the report stating that at a recent Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh Board meeting (Mr. Shields is a City representative on this Board), Carnegie Institute Interim President Suzanne W. Broadhurst had reported to the Board that the staff members at the North Side museums (The Carnegie Science Center and The Andy Warhol Museum) had gone "above and beyond" the call of duty to move artifacts that could have been affect4ed by the flood waters.]