Friends of the Zeiss Statement
Before
Telephone:
412-561-7876
Electronic Mail: <
friendsofthezeiss@planetarium.cc >
Internet Web Site:
< http://www.friendsofthezeiss.org >
Good morning, I am Glenn A.
Walsh of
On Friday evening, I attended
the Pittsburgh Children's Museum's 20th anniversary "Block Party," at
the Buhl Planetarium building. Although the public has been able to visit most
of the building's first floor since February, this is the first time the public
has had access to Buhl Planetarium's Theater of the Stars--what the Children's
Museum called the "Downtown Planetarium."
I was shocked at what I saw
and learned Friday evening. The Children's Museum has yet to raise all the
funding needed to complete their proposed expansion project. And, State funding
of the project is in jeopardy.
Despite all of this, the Children's
Museum has ALREADY GUTTED the interiors of both the Planetarium Theater and the
Astronomical Observatory!!! The only history remaining is the interior dome and
the projector’s Westinghouse "Worm-Gear" Elevator.
These actions of the
Children's Museum are arrogant and completely irresponsible. If the Children's
Museum cannot complete their proposed expansion project, they will return the
building to the City with a GUTTED Planetarium Theater and Observatory!!!
Prior to this demolition,
Buhl's Planetarium Theater included the world's first permanent theatrical
stage in a planetarium! This historic piece of City property was taken out of
the building and disposed of, simply because the current Children's Museum
administration had no use for it. Did the City of
This stage was on the north
side of the theater; the retention of this stage would not have interfered, in
any way, with the programming of the Children's Museum--in fact, it could have
been a good supplement. More importantly, even if the current Children's Museum
administration had no interest in this stage, its retention could have provided
a future Children's Museum administration with additional programming options.
It seems likely that these
irresponsible actions were taken, by the Children's Museum, in an attempt to
ensure that the historic Zeiss II Planetarium Projector and 10-inch
Siderostat-type Refractor Telescope could never be returned to the building.
Yet, there is still no assurance that the Children's Museum project will be
completed!
It is now clear that The
Carnegie Science Center will not reassemble the Zeiss II Projector, Siderostat
Telescope, or Mercator's Projection World Map anytime in the foreseeable
future--if ever! Considering the huge cost of constructing new facilities to
house these historic instruments, it is quite unlikely that anyone else will be
interested in their reassembly.
The only viable option, now,
is to return the Zeiss II Projector, Siderostat Telescope, and Mercator's
Projection World Map to the Buhl Planetarium building. The cost to restore the
infrastructure DESTROYED BY THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM is extremely modest compared
to the cost of building new facilities for these historic instruments.
The only other alternative is
to allow these historic artifacts to rot in the
Thank you.
gaw