I passed-by Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium Friday evening, as I try to
do at least once a month. And, I was surprised to see that, finally, a historic
plaque has been erected on the Buhl Planetarium building:

HISTORIC
LANDMARK

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Originally Buhl Planetarium and
Institute of Popular Science
Ingham & Boyd, architects, 1939

PITTSBURGH HISTORY &
LANDMARKS FOUNDATION

As you may know, Friends of the Zeiss, with the special assistance of Jon Wilson
Smith, was successful in having the Buhl Planetarium building designated as a
City Designated Historic Structure by the Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission
in July of 2005:

< http://venustransit.pghfree.net/fotz/releases/NR-Buhl-PCChistdesig2.htm >

Actually, this historic plaque has nothing to do with the City's historic
designation, as the City does not erect such plaques following a historic
designation. This plaque was erected by the private and non-profit Pittsburgh
History and Landmarks Foundation, which has been erecting such plaques since
1968. The plaques alert residents and visitors to the historic nature of the
buildings, but the plaques provide no legal protection to the buildings.

A few years before the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh completed the expansion
of their museum into the Buhl Planetarium building in November of 2004,
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Education Coordinator (and former
Buhl Planetarium Gift Shop Manager) Mary Ann Eubanks had told me that Children's
Museum Executive Director Jane Werner had promised that she would have a
historic plaque installed on the Buhl Planetarium building. [Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation had awarded the Buhl Planetarium historic plaque in 2001.)

So, this plaque has been a long time in coming; but it is finally here. I am not
exactly sure when it was erected. I imagine this occurred some time over the
last few weeks. Apparently, there was no ceremony as I have found nothing in the
newspapers, nor on the History and Landmarks web site, regarding the plaque's
erection.

Apparently, at the same time, they also erected a second historic plaque on the
Old Allegheny Post Office. The Post Office already had a historic plaque, dating
back to the 1970s when History and Landmarks used the building as their city
history museum. Now that it is owned by the Children's Museum, they felt the
need to erect an updated plaque:

HISTORIC
LANDMARK

Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Originally Allegheny Post Office
William M. Aiken, architect, 1894-97

Restored by and donated to the Museum by
PITTSBURGH HISTORY &
LANDMARKS FOUNDATION

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < siderostat1989@... >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
< https://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://incline.pghfree.net >
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >