From:	"Sanderson, Richard"
To:	"'friendsofthezeiss@planetarium.cc'" <friendsofthezeiss@planetarium.cc>
Subject:	support for Buhl Planetarium
Date:	Wed, 22 Jun 2005 09:09:50 -0400

To Whom It May Concern:
 
I would like to encourage the Pittsburgh City Council to designate the original Buhl Planetarium and
Institute of Popular Science building as a City-Designated Historic Structure, as proposed by the
"Friends of the Zeiss" organization. 
 
Early Zeiss planetariums played a major role in 20th century science and astronomy education, providing inspiration
to millions of children and families and setting the stage for today's age of space exploration. As one of the
nation's first planetariums, the original Buhl projector and building is an important and irreplaceable artifact,
not only in the history of Pittsburgh, but also in the history of science. This importance is enhanced by the fact
that many early Zeiss planetariums have not been preserved, which is a great loss. Preserving Pittsburgh's old
planetarium will be a noteworthy achievement and a gift to future generations of citizens who value the history of
Pittsburgh and are intrigued by the genesis of our modern age of space exploration. 
 
Sincerely,
Richard Sanderson
Curator of Physical Science and Director of the Seymour Planetarium
Springfield Science Museum
Springfield, MA 01103