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 2
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
qualifications 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
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
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
July 2 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, 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 beside 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
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 -