Buhl Planetarium under Construction

1938-10-21

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Buhl Planetarium under Construction
  • Title
  • Buhl Planetarium under Construction
  • Identifier
  • MSP80.B008.C10.I03
  • Source Identifier
  • MSP80.B008.C10.I03
  • Description
  • Pittsburgh architects Ingham & Boyd designed the Buhl Planetarium in the stripped Classical style at a cost of $1.07 million. The Planetarium was dedicated on October 24, 1939. The octagonal dome is composed of copper and formerly hosted the most popular feature of the Planetarium, the sky show projected on the dome’s interior. The sky show and science exhibits were moved to the new Carnegie Science Center in 1994. The building boasts sculpted reliefs and Indiana limestone walls on its exterior. The unique building is named in honor of Henry Buhl, Jr. (1869-1927), a City of Allegheny (now Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood) merchant who owned a department store that catered to the wealthy. The Buhl Planetarium has the oldest operating, major planetarium projector in the world. The Zeiss Optical Works in Jena, Germany, manufactured the projector at a cost of $135,000. It has 106 lenses capable of producing 9000 images of stars. It was the first building of its type to have an operating theatre with a special sound system for the hearing-impaired.
  • Genre
  • photographs
  • Subject
  • Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    North Side (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Buildings--Design and construction--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Domes--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Construction workers--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Steel framing (Building)--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Planetariums--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
  • Source
  • Trimble Company Photographs, 1924-1951, MSP 80, Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
  • Contributor
  • Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
  • Collection
  • Trimble Company Records
  • Rights Information
  • In Copyright. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).. Rights Holder: Senator John Heinz History Center
    http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
  • Rights Holder
  • Senator John Heinz History Center