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 June 29
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
to be considered a City-Designated Historic Structure. On
behalf of Friends of the Zeiss, the Buhl Planetarium building was nominated for
historic designation by City resident
Jon Wilson Smith at the beginning of the year.
The public hearing will take place in the City Council
Chamber, on the fifth floor of the
the City Clerk’s office at 412-255-2138.
All verbal statements by
members of the public will be limited to no more than three minutes at this
hearing. 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
several historic firsts:
Ø First
planetarium 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 in the country started at Buhl Planetarium in the Spring of 1940. Only two state-wide science fairs are older than
the annual Pittsburgh Regional School Science and
Engineering Fair.
News Release: City Council Hearing on
Historic Nomination of Buhl Planetarium
2005
June 29 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
planetarium projector in the world
before being dismantled in October of 2002.
Designation as a City
Designated Historic Structure would mean that the Buhl Planetarium building
cannot be demolished, or the exterior altered, without approval of the
Historic Review Commission of
Buhl Planetarium on the North
Side, are already protected by the Historic Review Commission.
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
by the Children’s
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.
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 -