Friends of the Zeiss RFP Response 2002 May 22 Page II-1

Zeiss II Planetarium Projector and

Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator

In the Theater of the Stars

 

Description: The Zeiss II Planetarium Projector is much more than a historic artifact. It is an operable piece of scientific apparatus that is as useful today, as it was when first installed in 1939. In fact, it is now the oldest operable major planetarium projector in the world !!!

The Westinghouse Electric Elevator Company mounted the Zeiss II projector on a rather unique "worm-gear" elevator, custom-built for the planetarium projector in 1939. Pittsburgh's projector was the world's first planetarium projector to be placed on an elevator, to allow more flexible use of the Planetarium Theater, known as the Theater of the Stars.

A moderate-sized control console allows the planetarium lecturer to operate the Zeiss projector. Lights, sound system, and supplemental projectors in the "coves"(around the theater at the bottom of the dome) are also controlled at this console. And, at this console, the planetarium lecturer can roll-out the theatrical stage into the planetarium chamber, as well as open the stage curtains and control the stage lighting; Buhl Planetarium's stage was the world's first permanent theatrical stage in a planetarium!

Another crucial part of the Theater of the Stars is the projection dome. Many people may not realize that this dome differs from the outer dome. The outer dome, which people recognize as Buhl Planetarium, simply protects the inner dome and the Theater of the Stars from the weather. The copper-clad exterior dome has a diameter of 72 feet.

The inner dome composed of stainless steel, with a diameter of 65 feet, is the projection screen used by the Zeiss projector. The top of the interior dome is 42 feet above the floor of the Theater of the Stars. There is a 15-foot gap between the inner and outer domes, which is needed for the Theater's sound system, electrical wiring, the ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems, as well as the work lights and emergency lights.

Although it looks solid, the interior dome is actually perforated with thousands of tiny holes; without these holes, the Theater of the Stars would be a large echo chamber! The 15-foot gap between the exterior and interior domes also allows for acoustic padding, to prevent the outer dome from giving an echo effect. Of course, placing acoustic padding on the inside of the interior dome(if this was the only dome that existed) would not permit the proper display of the stars and other celestial bodies on the dome.

The thousands of holes also allow for proper ventilation of the Theater. In addition to projecting the stars and other images onto the interior dome, three-dimensional objects can be lighted from directly behind the inner dome for viewing by the planetarium show audience. At the beginning of Buhl Planetarium performances, called "sky shows," the lecturer would often turn on the work lights behind the interior dome, to show the audience how transparent the interior dome really is.

The crèche displayed during the seasonal show, "The Star of Bethlehem," was a three-dimensional nativity scene illuminated from just behind the interior dome. In some years called "The Christmas Star," this audience favorite has been shown every Christmas season since the Buhl Planetarium opened in 1939.

Although originally designed to seat 500, the Pittsburgh Fire Marshal set the maximum capacity of the Theater of the Stars at 490. Seating in the Theater of the Stars was updated twice--once in the 1960s(these seats included a hard plastic mold at the top of each seat, which a person would have to rest their head on!)

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and again in July of 1977.

The introduction of laser-light shows set to music(mostly, but not completely, rock-and-roll music shows) to supplement the planetarium shows, in 1977, necessitated the second seating change; then, there were 381 permanent seats. Originally, the Laser Images-produced Laserium was shown; later in the 1980s, shows were produced by Audio-Visual Imagineering(AVI), and even later by Laser Fantasy. When AVI erected an even larger laser projector in the Theater of the Stars, in the mid-1980s, six seats had to be removed to accommodate the larger projector; today, there are 375 permanent seats.

With the addition of portable seating(often used in the busy Spring months for school groups), the seating capacity increased to 430. The seating section, in front of the theatrical stage, had never been permanent seating; this is where the portable seats were placed, when needed. Thus, when the theatrical stage was used(sometimes, this stage would be rolled into the Theater of the Stars, via three tracks in the carpeting; this is accomplished using an electric motor), the portable seats would be removed to provide the public a good view of the stage.

The Zeiss II Planetarium Projector projects an extremely accurate and very realistic depiction of the night sky onto the interior dome of Buhl Planetarium's Theater of the Stars. In fact, due to the optical nature of the projector, and the large size of the projection dome, the realistic representation of the night sky, by Buhl's Zeiss II projector, is unsurpassed by any other Pennsylvania projector! Although the newer computerized planetarium projectors have additional capabilities, they cannot match the realism of the Zeiss sky.

The Westinghouse "worm-gear" elevator allows the Zeiss projector to be lowered into a machinery room known as the Zeiss Pit, when the projector is not needed. This allows the Theater of the Stars to be used for other auditorium uses. This would also allow the Theater of the Stars to be utilized for exhibit gallery uses, if this were deemed necessary.

History: In 1930, The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, the nation's first major planetarium, opened in Chicago. Five members of the one-year-old Amateur Astronomers' Association of Pittsburgh(AAAP) visited this new institution for explaining astronomy to the public. AAAP co-founder Leo J. Scanlon, who later in 1930 would build the world's first all-aluminum dome for his personal astronomical observatory next to his North Side home, was extremely impressed by this new thing called a planetarium. He, and other amateur astronomers, immediately started lobbying potential private funders and City government to build a planetarium in Pittsburgh.

In 1937, the Buhl Foundation, then the 13th largest foundation in the country(and Pittsburgh's first major foundation), agreed to construct a "planetarium and institute of popular science" on a City-owned site in the heart of the North Side, which previously had held the City Hall for the once independent City of Allegheny. The new institution would memorialize Henry Buhl, Jr., the late North Side merchant(who had founded and owned the Boggs and Buhl Department Store, a block away from the planetarium site) who had left an $11 million bequest for the formation of the Buhl Foundation.

The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, constructed, equipped, and furnished at a cost of $1.08 million(completely paid for by the Buhl Foundation), was dedicated on October 24, 1939. On that date, the building and all contents of the building were conveyed to the City of Pittsburgh as a gift. And, the Buhl Foundation fully subsidized all unfunded operating deficits of the new institution from 1939 to 1982.

Although the facility was built to explain all of the physical sciences to the public, the heart of the institution is the Theater of the Stars utilizing a Zeiss II Planetarium Projector. Pittsburgh Zeiss II became only the fifth major planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. Due to World War II(which erupted in Europe nearly two months before the Buhl Planetarium dedication), Pittsburgh's projector became the last Zeiss II built; a newer model Zeiss projector would not be unveiled until 1955. Pittsburgh's projector had been

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imported from the Carl Zeiss Optical Works in Jena, Germany, which was converted to assembling bombsights for German military aircraft during World War II; eventually, the Allies bombed this factory.

Eventually, the Buhl staff affectionately nicknamed the Zeiss projector, "Jake;" this nickname was even used in the title of a children's planetarium show, "Jake's Magic Sky." With assistance from the Westinghouse Electric Elevator Company, Buhl's Zeiss II projector became the first planetarium projector in the world to be placed on an elevator, to allow more flexible use of the Theater of the Stars.

The first Director of Buhl Planetarium, James Stokley, had originally been Director of the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. For special presentations in Fels Planetarium, particularly during the Christmas season, a temporary staging was erected in the Planetarium Theater. It was Mr. Stokley's idea to have a permanent theatrical stage constructed, as an integral part of Buhl Planetarium's Theater of the Stars. Thus, when Buhl Planetarium opened in 1939, it included the world's first permanent theatrical stage in a planetarium !

The theatrical stage was used several times each year. During the annual student Foreign Language Festival, school groups would give foreign language skits on the stage; these students would also see a planetarium show, with foreign language narration. During showings of the popular star drama,"Star of Bethlehem," each Christmas season, in one segment of the show a staff member or volunteer, portraying "Saint Luke," who would tell the Christmas story on the stage. In 1980, in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Public Theater, a special play was performed regarding the life of famous Italian Astronomer Galileo Galilei. Part of this performance occurred in the Hazlett Theatre, in Carnegie Library's North Side Carnegie Hall; the other part of the performance took place on the theatrical stage in Buhl Planetarium's Theater of the Stars.

As the years went by, planetaria in other cities replaced their original machines(many of them were also Zeiss II projectors) with newer model projectors from the Carl Zeiss company or other vendors. For instance, the Zeiss II projector at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago(in 1930, the first major planetarium projector in the Western Hemisphere) was replaced with a Zeiss VI projector in 1971. Adler sold the dismantled Zeiss II projector, which was never reassembled. It is believed this dismantled projector may be in storage someplace in Ohio.

Although Buhl Planetarium had a couple of opportunities to obtain a newer projector, Buhl management chose to continue using their tried-and-true Zeiss II projector. By Buhl Planetarium's fiftieth anniversary, in 1989, Buhl owned one of only three operating Zeiss II projectors in the world. And, of those three, Buhl's Zeiss II was the only one still in its original condition; the other two had been extensively modified. Today, Buhl Planetarium's Zeiss II projector is the oldest operable major planetarium projector in the world !!!

Public shows, in Buhl Planetarium's Theater of the Stars, ceased with the last show of the day on August 31, 1991. With the opening of the new Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium and Observatory in The Carnegie Science Center, on October 5, 1991, the original Buhl Planetarium assumed a new role.

The Carnegie Science Center had originally been constructed without classroom space, as it had been decided that all Science Center Science and Computer classes for children would continue to be taught in the original Buhl Planetarium building, which was now dubbed "The Carnegie Science Center, Allegheny Square Annex." Hence, from then on, both the Zeiss II Planetarium Projector and the 10-inch Siderostat-type Refractor Telescope were used for teaching Carnegie Science Center children's Astronomy classes. This lasted until February of 1994, when the Buhl Planetarium building was completely closed; the building and all contents were returned to the City of Pittsburgh in December of 1996.

 

 

 

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More history of the Zeiss II Planetarium Projector and the Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator can be found on the Internet at URL:

< http://buhlplanetarium3.tripod.com/BuhlZeissII.htm >.

More on the general history of The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science can be found on the Internet at URL:

< http://www.planetarium.cc >.

Three Proposed Options --

Proposals I and II: These are our preferred proposals. The Zeiss II Planetarium Projector, along with the control console, and Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator, would be kept in the Theater of the Stars of Buhl Planetarium and used for astronomical demonstrations for children and other patrons of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and Center. The only difference between these first two proposals is that Proposal I would retain the permanent seats in the Theater of the Stars; with Proposal II, the permanent seats could be removed to allow exhibit gallery uses of the Theater of the Stars.

With Proposal I, preferably, the 375 permanent seats would be retained in the Theater of the Stars for these performances. When the Zeiss projector is not being used, it would be lowered, on the Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator, into the Zeiss Pit for storage. The Children's Museum would then have use of a 375-seat theater for other auditorium uses. The elevator was installed in 1939, specifically to provide this type of flexible use of the Theater of the Stars.

However, if it were deemed necessary, with Proposal II we would not object to the permanent seats being removed to allow exhibit gallery uses of the Theater of the Stars. As part of Proposal II, we would ask that any exhibit gallery use not prevent use of the Zeiss projector, control console, and Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator. Unlike the 250 seats in the Lecture Hall(a.k.a. Little Science Theater), the Planetarium seating is not original or historic. And some patrons, particularly children, enjoy watching a planetarium show while sitting or lying on carpeting. We would ask that the portable seats, still in the Theater of the Stars, be retained.

Volunteers from Friends of the Zeiss could present astronomical shows and historical demonstrations using the Zeiss projector. Friends of the Zeiss would operate the projector as a supplement to the Children's Museum's programming. If there is the interest, staff and volunteers of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and Center could also be trained to operate the projector. However, we would not expect Children's Museum staff or volunteers to operate this instrument.

We are seeking paid consultants from out-of-town, who have experience with Zeiss projectors, to assist us with getting our Zeiss projector operating after eight years without regular maintenance. One technician, who may assist us, completely disassembled and reassembled the Zeiss II projector(adding new star plates, gears, and slip-rings)at Chicago's Adler Planetarium in 1961.

Of course, it would make a lot of sense to have technicians, who have worked on our Zeiss projector, do this work. However, these technicians now work for The Carnegie Science Center. Since The Carnegie Science Center management wants Buhl's Zeiss II projector not to operate, it would be very difficult for any of these technicians to help us.

Once the Zeiss II projector is running again, a schedule of regular maintenance should ensure continuing operation at a very reasonable cost. We anticipate that, from time-to-time, a major part may fail in the machine. Then we would need to have a new part fabricated specifically for this instrument.

 

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Having this done is nothing new or special. Other historic operating equipment in the region, including the machinery that operates The Duquesne Incline, has had the same problem. The Duquesne Incline has a couple very good machinists, which they work with, when there is a problem with their equipment. These machinists have expressed a willingness to work with us, when the need arises.

Jane Werner, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, recently expressed a concern regarding the functionality of the Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator. She indicated that there is a State-issued "red tag" on the elevator, forbidding its use.

We checked with the Elevator Division of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, in Harrisburg, regarding this concern. According to Elevator Division Director Michael J. Mellon, Jr., this "red tag" simply means the elevator was "sealed" when Carnegie Institute turned the building back to the City in December of 1996, and the building was "mothballed." During the use of the Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator in the 1990s, the State Elevator Division inspected this elevator on January 26, 1994, January 14, 1993, September 5, 1991, and April 13, 1990.

A new State inspection will be necessary to resume use of this elevator. As this elevator also received no regular maintenance, in the last six years, we anticipate some maintenance may be required prior to the resumed use.

Proposal III: The Zeiss II Planetarium Projector would be kept in its original installation, on the Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator. Both the projector and the elevator would be kept in the lowered position, in the Zeiss Pit below the Theater of the Stars. We would maintain the projector and elevator, in a "mothballed" condition, until such time that their use was agreed-to.

It is important, for the future use of the Zeiss projector, that the Theater of the Stars not be modified in any way, which could preclude future use of the projector. Construction of a new floor directly above the Zeiss elevator shaft, as proposed by the Children's Museum, is completely unnecessary. The current movable floor, above the Zeiss elevator shaft, weighs 6,000 pounds. No Children's Museum exhibit would add enough additional weight to require a new floor to be constructed over the Zeiss elevator shaft.

Further, it is important that the 65-foot diameter projection dome receive no modifications. The dome should not be used to hang lighting or anything else that would compromise its future function as a projection screen for the Zeiss projector.

The Zeiss Pit is located in the lower level of the Buhl Planetarium building. It is surrounded by, what was, a public exhibit gallery known as the Octagon Gallery(for eight years, part of the Octagon Gallery was used for the Computer Learning Laboratory). It is our understanding that most of the Octagon Gallery will be used as a Workshop, in the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and Center.

We note that the architect's plans included with the Lease Agreement, between the City and the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and Center, show the Zeiss Pit remaining in-place. Considering that the bottom of the Zeiss Pit is actually below the floor level of the Octagon Gallery, it would be difficult to use this space for other purposes.

This would be a very logical storage area, for the mothballed Zeiss projector. Storage of the Zeiss projector, in this location, would not take away any space that was previously available for public use or storage space. The areas on the periphery of the Zeiss Pit could be available, to the Children's Museum, for storage.

 

 

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If necessary, the Zeiss control console could also possibly be stored in the periphery of the Zeiss Pit. It is also possible that the Zeiss control console could be utilized as a docent's station, to monitor activity in the Children's Museum activity areas of the Theater of the Stars.

While the Zeiss projector is "mothballed," we would be interested in displaying the machine, without the machine functioning, to patrons of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and Center. This could possibly be accomplished by erecting a large picture window in the south wall of the Zeiss Pit. Special lighting would

be installed to illuminate the projector, during public visiting hours. Explanatory information, giving a short history of the projector, would be placed adjacent to this picture window. And, for additional information on the history of the projector, an interactive computer will be set-up adjacent to the window, including information from the History of Buhl Planetarium Internet web site; this large web site of historical information has been active for more than two and one-half years:

< http://www.planetarium.cc >

Jane Werner, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, recently expressed a concern regarding the functionality of the Westinghouse Worm-Gear Elevator. She indicated that there is a State-issued "red tag" on the elevator, forbidding its use.

I checked with the Elevator Division of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, in Harrisburg, regarding this concern. According to Elevator Division Director Michael J. Mellon, Jr., this "red tag" simply means the elevator was "sealed" when Carnegie Institute turned the building back to the City in December of 1996, and the building was "mothballed." A new State inspection will be necessary to resume use of this elevator. As this elevator also received no regular maintenance, in the last six years, we anticipate some maintenance may be required prior to the resumed use.

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