Updates: Buhl Planetarium and Carnegie
Library
2002 December
Buhl Planetarium
In 2002 April, after weeks of
debate and a public hearing before Pittsburgh City Council, City Council
approved a bill allowing the lease of the Buhl Planetarium building to the
Pittsburgh Children's Museum for the Museum's proposed expansion project. The
Lease was not legally executed until October 24, ironically, the 63rd
anniversary of the dedication of Buhl Planetarium.
However, the Children's
Museum's groundbreaking for the expansion project, scheduled in June, was
delayed indefinitely due to the lack of State funding for the project.
Allegheny Regional Asset District funding, also, was not received due to the
indefinite nature of the project.
In late November, as part of
his "Farewell Tour," Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker came to
Pittsburgh and provided $63 million to several City cultural assets, including
$8 million to the Children's Museum's expansion project. At this time, asbestos
is being removed from the Buhl Planetarium building. An official groundbreaking
for the expanded "Pittsburgh Children's Museum and Center" is now
scheduled for 2003 January.
The disposition of Buhl
Planetarium's historic equipment and artifacts, including the Zeiss II Planetarium
Projector [now, the oldest operable major planetarium projector in the world
!], 10-inch Siderostat-type Refractor Telescope, Mercator's Projection Map of
the World, and "Rise of Steel Technology" Mural by local artist Nat
Youngblood, is another matter.
The City issued a Request For
Proposals [RFP] document in April, regarding the preservation of these four
major artifacts. Two organizations submitted proposals by the May 23 deadline.
The Carnegie Science Center proposed dismantling and removing the Zeiss
Projector, Siderostat Telescope, and Mercator's Projection World Map. They said
these artifacts would be reassembled and used following the completion of the
Science Center's proposed $62-90 million expansion [Note that the Science
Center has not secured any funding
for this proposed expansion project!]. Even if reassembled and powered-up, the
Zeiss Projector would never provide the superb star and planet displays in The
Carnegie Science Center, as it would simply be displayed as an artifact in an exhibit
gallery [even if this possibly included projection of a few star-like images on
a nearby projection screen].
A new non-profit organization
called Friends of the Zeiss,
spearheaded by Barry M. Mitnick, Francis G. Graham, Norman M. Downey, John D.
Weinhold, and myself, submitted a bid to the City to preserve the four major
artifacts, as well as several smaller artifacts, in-place in the Buhl
Planetarium building. Our bid suggested ways the artifacts could be maintained,
without interfering with the programming of the Children's Museum.
To no one's surprise, The
Carnegie Science Center won the bid to preserve the Zeiss Projector, Siderostat
Telescope, and Mercator's Projection World Map. However, for months we were not
able to get a copy, from the City, of the Science Center's actual bid proposal.
The Friends of the Zeiss bid proposal, in its entirety, has been available
since the end of May, on our Internet web site for everyone to see: < http://www.friendsofthezeiss.org >
In November, we finally received
a copy of the Science Center's bid proposal. We then learned that the Science
Center does not have the $111,020
that they claim is needed to complete their proposed project. Yet, according to
the City RFP, the Science Center was required
to have this money available by July 25!
Thus, it is clear that the
Science Center's RFP proposal did not, at
all, comply with the requirements in the "Funding Sources"
paragraph of the City RFP document. Hence, it is the position of Friends of the
Zeiss that there is no legal basis whereby the City can lease these three
artifacts to The Carnegie Science Center. We are now working to ensure that
these proposed Leases do not go forward, and the historic artifacts remain in
Buhl Planetarium. Seeking legal relief in the courts has not been ruled-out,
should the City insist on attempting to execute these proposed Lease
Agreements.
gaw (Update: Carnegie Library on reverse side of page)
Carnegie Library
On November 25 new
legislation [Bill 1141] was introduced into Pittsburgh City Council, which
would provide for the preparing of official leases for seventeen branch library
buildings, between the City of Pittsburgh and The Carnegie Library of
Pittsburgh. However, in City Council's Committee on General Services, Technology
and the Arts on December 4, Bill 1141 was suddenly amended to provide an option
whereby Carnegie Library could purchase, at their discretion, any or all of the
branch buildings for $100 per building. Of course, once Carnegie Library owns
the buildings, they could use or dispose of them as they see fit, without any
further review by the public or City Council.
As some of you know, I served
five years on the Board of Trustees of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library in
Carnegie, Pennsylvania [including one year as Library Treasurer], and I am the
webmaster of an Internet web site on the History of Andrew Carnegie and
Carnegie Libraries < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >. During my tenure on
this Library Board [which is independent and not affiliated with The Carnegie
Library of Pittsburgh], there was an attempt to force the library out of its
historic building. Hence, I was immediately concerned that some of the historic
Carnegie Library buildings in the City may be sold and/or demolished, as a
result of passage of Bill 1141.
On December 6, several
library supporters and I submitted petition forms to the City Clerk requesting
a public hearing in City Council regarding the proposed sale of City property
to Carnegie Library. We, respectfully, asked City Council to delay the final
vote on Bill 1141 until a public hearing could be held on the specifics of the
bill. By a 5-4 vote, City Council voted not
to hold a public hearing before final passage of Bill 1141! However, City
Councilman Jim Ferlo [who will become a new State Senator, in the Pennsylvania
General Assembly in January] was able to amend the legislation, before final
passage [Bill 1141 passed by a vote of 7-2], to include a clause requiring City
Council approval for the sale of any library building to Carnegie Library.
Carnegie Library claims they
need ownership of the library property, to make it easier to receive foundation
grants and to deal with contractors for renovations to the buildings. The fact
is that other cultural assets which reside on City property, such as the
National Aviary, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, and Phipps Conservatory,
have had no problems obtaining foundation grants for expansion or
rehabilitation projects, or with contracting.
The real reason, for what can
only be referred to as a "land-grab," is so that Carnegie Library is
able to sell-off certain library buildings to raise funds for their capital
program. The four library branches most likely to be sold-off, should ownership
of these buildings be conveyed to Carnegie Library, are the branches in the
West End, Hazelwood, Lawrenceville, and Mt. Washington. These are four of the
ten original library buildings given to the City by Andrew Carnegie. In fact,
Andrew Carnegie created the world's first extensive neighborhood library branch
system in Pittsburgh! In particular, the Mt. Washington Branch sits right on
Grandview Avenue, in the middle of a busy tourist corridor. Carnegie Library
could buy this building from the City for $100, then sell the property to a
developer for a huge sum; the developer could then tear-down the building and
construct a new high-rise condominium or apartment building!
Although Carnegie Library
claims that they would create new branch libraries in the same neighborhoods
where library branches are closed, it is likely that these "new"
library branches would be small storefront operations; hence, library service
would suffer. When the original Wylie Avenue Branch Library was closed in the
Hill District, in the early 1980s, a new Hill District Branch Library was
opened in an embarrassingly-small storefront of the Phoenix Hills Shopping
Center.
Early next year, Carnegie
Library may ask City Council for permission to purchase one or more library
buildings. At that time, we will petition for another public hearing before
Council, prior to the final vote. Contact me if you are interested in
participating in such a future public hearing, either in-person or by letter. I
will then notify you when the public hearing is scheduled.
gaw (Update:
Buhl Planetarium on reverse side of page)
Glenn A. Walsh Electronic
Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
P.O. Box 1041 Internet
Web Sites - Friends of the Zeiss: < http://www.friendsofthezeiss.org >
Pittsburgh PA 15230-1041 History of Buhl Planetarium:
< http://www.planetarium.cc >
Telephone: 412-561-7876 Andrew Carnegie &
Carnegie Libraries: < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >