Application
for the Nomination as a
The Buhl
Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science
2004 December
Appendix C: Building Significance
1. Its location as a site of a significant historic or prehistoric
event or activity;
The site is significant for two
reasons:
1) Just prior to construction of The Buhl Planetarium and
Institute of Popular Science, this site was occupied by a three-floor City Hall
building, for the operation of the governmental affairs of the independent City
of Allegheny, then, the second largest city in Allegheny County (and, possibly,
the third largest city in the State). This City Hall, which had been
constructed in the 1860s, lasted well past the 1907 merger of the cities of
Allegheny and
2) From 1939 until 1991, this was the site of
2.
Its
identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the
cultur
1) The Buhl Foundation agreed, in 1935, to build a planetarium
and institute of popular science as a lasting memorial to Henry Buhl, Jr. Mr. Buhl,
with his partner Russell H. Boggs, established the Boggs and Buhl Department
Store in 1869. Due to high quality merchandise and excellent customer service,
Boggs and Buhl quickly became one of the six most prominent department stores
in the
2) Leo
J. Scanlon, an active Pittsburgh-area amateur astronomer, developed the world’s
first all-aluminum dome for his private astronomical observatory, next to his home
on the North Side. Prior to this observatory’s dedication, on 1930 November 23,
most people (including officials from ALCOA!) believed that aluminum was not a
strong enough material for use in construction of a dome. Not only did Mr.
Scanlon prove that aluminum was strong enough for a dome, a photograph was
taken of him sitting on top of the dome!
Constructing
an all-aluminum dome got the attention of several major national magazines,
including Scientific American, Science & Invention, Popular
Astronomy, and The Sky (predecessor of Sky and Telescope
magazine; The Sky was co-published by Buhl Planetarium and New York’s
Hayden Planetarium
Appendix C: Building Significance 2004 December Page 2 of 7
for a
short time beginning in 1939). Mr. Scanlon’s aluminum dome became the prototype for aluminum
domes on many future astronomical observatories.
In
1998, the
Mr. Scanlon,
co-founder of the Amateur Astronomers’ Association of Pittsburgh on 1929 June
9, was instrumental
in lobbying local foundations and the City government to have a planetarium
built in
A
history of the life of Leo J. Scanlon, who passed-away in 1999, can be found at
URL:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/bio/ScanlonL.htm
>
3.
Its
exemplification of an architectur
The Buhl
Planetarium and
In his book, Landmark
Architecture: Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pittsburgh History and
Landmarks Foundation architectural historian Walter C. Kidney called Buhl
Planetarium “a work in the compromise Classicism of the time that
attempted to combine tradition and modernity.” Later, in the “Modernism”
chapter, Mr. Kidney describes the Buhl Planetarium building as one of the
“Major Eclectic buildings (that) continued to rise in the Depression” including
“the Gulf Building, the Mellon Institute, the East Liberty Presbyterian Church,
the Cathedral of Learning, the Heinz Chapel, the Buhl Planetarium, and the
Florentine institutions of the Medical Center that were replacing the old
villas on the Oakland hillside.” Mr. Kidney goes on to say that “Eclecticism
seemed to have exhausted itself with these last great efforts, and when the
Pittsburgh Renaissance built, it built in ways that had to be considered
Modern.” Completed just before the onset of the Second World War, the Buhl
Planetarium was one of the very last of these Eclectic buildings referred to by
Mr. Kidney.
When opened to the public, the entire
building was air-conditioned, except for the Astronomical Observatory on the
third floor (however, the Observatory’s
Observing Room was heated!). Hence, The Buhl Planetarium and
Appendix C: Building Significance 2004 December Page 3 of 7
From the institution’s inception, the
building included a state-of-the-art
“talking exhibit” system. Several exhibits, throughout the building
included a button that could be pushed by a visitor. This would activate a
recording, from a record on a turntable in a special audio room (located across
the hallway from the Planetarium Theater’s audio room). The last remnant of
this talking exhibit system, an audio speaker, can still be seen today in the
Foucault Pendulum Pit.
The exterior
of The Buhl Planetarium and
4.
Its
identification as the work of an architect, designer, engineer, or builder
whose individu
One of the City of
Construction of
Buhl Planetarium’s exterior dome began on 1938 October 11. The dome was
erected by the R. Guastavino Company. The R. Guastavino Company’s Construction
Superintendent, for the erection of Buhl Planetarium’s exterior dome, was Frank
Tisdale Bretherton.
Located at
5.
Its
exemplification of important planning and urban design techniques distinguished
by innovation, rarity, uniqueness, or over
The Buhl
Foundation spared no expense in the construction of The Buhl Planetarium
and
Appendix C: Building Significance 2004 December Page 4 of 7
The exterior
of The Buhl Planetarium and
To maximize space
for museum exhibits, better control the lighting inside the building, and
assist in the heating and cooling (Buhl Planetarium was the first
publicly-owned building in the City—and possibly the State—to be constructed
with air-conditioning) of the building, The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of
Popular Science was purposely constructed with the exhibit galleries having no
windows (and, no windows at all on the first floor level).
Buhl's Zeiss II Planetarium Projector was the
first planetarium projector in the world
to be placed on an elevator !!!
Buhl Planetarium’s Theater of the Stars was the first planetarium theater (and,
perhaps, the first theater!) to install a special sound system specifically for
the use of the hearing-impaired. Both air-conduction and bone-conduction
headsets were available (for a one dollar, returnable, deposit fee) for the use
of hearing-impaired, Sky Show attendees. The attendee would plug the headset
into one of ten sound system receptacles, located just behind the last row of
seats, just east of the Planetarium Control Console.
It was the world’s first planetarium theater built with a permanent stage
specifically for theatrical performances. The main stage could actually be
extended into the planetarium theater; originally, this was accomplished using electric
motors. Thus, when the stage was not in use, it could be retracted into the
side wall, and that area of the Planetarium Theater could be used for
additional seating, using portable chairs.
The Planetarium Theater actually was constructed with two stages. After the elevator takes
the projector completely below the floor level, a second stage can be created
above the projector (again, using electric motors), for
theater-in-the-round-type presentations.
When it was decided to include an
astronomical observatory in the Buhl Planetarium building, they chose not to
build a typical observatory with a dome. It was decided to build an observatory which would be very visitor friendly.
One where, during cold weather, visitors could stand in a heated observing room
and look through the telescope, while most of the observing equipment (except
the telescope eyepiece) remained in the cold air (necessary to avoid
disruption of the image by heat waves). The type of observatory they chose also permitted the public to stand normally
to look though the telescope (for some astronomical images, other
telescopes require the viewer to strain their neck in odd ways, to be able to
look through the telescope). And, in this observatory, a child could not accidentally bump, and hence,
move the telescope from the object being viewed.
Appendix C: Building Significance 2004 December Page 5 of 7
This was a “Siderostat”
observatory,” utilizing a 10-inch Sidereal Coelostat (“Siderostat-type”)
Refractor Telescope. It was the second largest operable Siderostat
observatory in the world. Although a much larger Siderostat-type telescope
was employed during a special exhibition in
While the Buhl
Planetarium building was designed with a boiler room, it was never necessary to
install boilers in the building! As the Allegheny Regional Branch of The
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (in 1939, known as the Carnegie Free Library of
Allegheny) was directly across the street from Buhl Planetarium, arrangements
were made, with the City of Pittsburgh, to have Buhl Planetarium’s steam needs
provided by the Carnegie Free Library boilers.
7. Its association with important cultur
The Buhl Planetarium and
The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular
Science was built at Allegheny City’s
(then, in 1939, the North Side of the City of Pittsburgh) highest traffic
intersection, the intersection of Federal and Ohio Streets (Federal Street
divided Ohio Street into East and West Ohio Streets; Buhl Planetarium was the
first building on the north side of West Ohio Street). At this intersection
were the
Nearly
all major streetcar and bus routes, traveling between Downtown Pittsburgh and
North Side and North Hills points, passed this intersection, providing easy and frequent transportation to and
from Buhl Planetarium. Further, a few
streetcar and bus routes, such as the 77/54 North Side—Oakland—South Side
streetcar line (made famous as “The Flyin’ Fraction” by popular KDKA radio
morning rush-hour personality Rege Cordic in the 1960s), which traveled through
many of Pittsburgh’s ethnic neighborhoods but only skirted the edge of
Downtown, actually terminated in the
vicinity of Buhl Planetarium. In the
mid-1960s, when the Allegheny Center urban renewal project replaced several
of the streets near Buhl Planetarium, these
bus routes (by that time, Pittsburgh Railways Company’s “The Flyin’
Fraction” had been absorbed into the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s county-wide public transit
Appendix C: Building Significance 2004 December Page 6 of 7
system, converted from a streetcar to a bus,
and given the practical and less colorful designation of “54C”) actually terminated their routes and
laid-over in front of, or just west of, the Buhl Planetarium building, on
the newly created side street titled Allegheny Square West (part of this street
is now known as Children’s Way).
Bus lines to Mount Washington (former bus
route 34B), and to the Charles Street/City View/Northview Heights section of
the North Side (former bus route 19C), also terminated their route and
laid-over at Buhl Planetarium. Again, these transit routes did not travel
through Downtown.
Bus drivers, in their official uniform, were
permitted to routinely enter Buhl Planetarium, without charge, to use the
public restroom, during their layover time. After using the public restroom one
day, one bus driver told Glenn A. Walsh that he really appreciated this
privilege, because he knew that Buhl Planetarium’s public restrooms were always
clean and well-kept; he made it a point to tell fellow drivers to use Buhl’s
restroom, when in the area. And, this was very practical for the bus drivers as
Buhl Planetarium was open every day of the year (except Christmas Day), most
days from
Today, the 54C North Side—Oakland—South Side
bus route is the only bus line which terminates at the Buhl Planetarium
building, or goes directly by the Buhl Planetarium building (although the
renumbered 16F City View bus route, which was extended to Downtown on 1977 June
19, did travel directly past Buhl Planetarium on its outbound runs until very recently). Today, most bus routes,
between Downtown and North Side and North Hills points, travel within one or
two blocks of Buhl Planetarium, most traveling around the entire Allegheny
Center complex on North Commons, West Commons, South Commons, and East Commons
Streets.
9. Its representation of a cultur
The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of
Popular Science was designed in the same era as the World’s Fair of 1939-1940
("Building The World of Tomorrow") in
And, this was
particularly important for the City of Pittsburgh, as Pittsburgh was then
called the “Workshop of the World” and included a lot of major
corporations (until the many corporate mergers of the 1980s, Pittsburgh was
the third largest corporate headquarters city in the country, just behind
New York and Chicago, respectively; Pittsburgh still remains within the top
ten) which utilized technological improvements for advancement of their
products. Indeed, even in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Andrew
Carnegie insisted on investing in the most technologically advanced processes
for making steel in his Carnegie Steel Company (predecessor of the United
States Steel Corporation).
With so many major
Appendix C: Building Significance 2004 December Page 7 of 7
The general public
primarily thought of the institution as a planetarium (instead of reciting the
long actual name, the institution and building were commonly referred to as
simply “Buhl Planetarium”), and hence, with the primary emphasis in Astronomy.
However, throughout the history of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of
Popular Science, the R&D divisions of many Pittsburgh corporations invested
in quite a few exhibits and programs (particularly designed for the education
of high school students) for Buhl, including (but, by no means, limited to) the
annual Pittsburgh Regional School Science and Engineering Fair.
In the case of the
Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, not only did they provide many
telecommunications exhibits for Buhl Planetarium, for a while they even
funded a part-time staff person to explain these exhibits to the public!
And, when Bell Telephone decided to introduce commercial Picture Phone service
(real-time, video and voice telephone service; video was in black-and-white) in
the early 1970s (and, they chose Pittsburgh and Chicago as the first two cities
for this service unveiling), Bell Telephone provided Buhl Planetarium with two
Picture Phone telephone booths, where the public could learn how to use this
new technology!
10. Its unique location and distinctive physic
The
Buhl Planetarium and
Of course,
with the
planetarium dome, it does have a rather unique appearance,
necessary for its function as a planetarium. It is ironic that the building
just west of Buhl Planetarium, the Old Allegheny Post Office, also has a dome,
although this dome was more for decoration than function.
