![]() ![]() Their stated goal was to build the largest planetarium and space center in the world under an 85-foot domed chamber. James Doolittle and aviation pioneer Jacqueline Cochrane. Weinstein raised the idea with Father Francis Heyden, the revered astronomer-educator at Georgetown University, and, bolstered by the Soviet satellite Sputnik, spearheaded a blue-ribbon campaign starting in 1961 that included luminaries such as nuclear physicist Edward Teller, Harvard astronomer Donald Menzel, Caltech aerodynamicist Theodore van Karman, space scientist S. Weinstein, a local educational entrepreneur. Rulon indicated that they would eventually propose the planetarium as a gift to the Smithsonian to expand its presence on the “South Mall.”Īrticle in the December 28, 1958, edition of The Sunday Star about the proposed waterfront planetarium offered to the Smithsonian. Proquest Historical NewspapersĪlthough nothing came of this gesture, a loose consortium of civilians soon revived the idea in the early 1960s, orchestrated by Herman S. The planetarium would complement their restaurant, and its owners, Joseph K. In 1958, responding to efforts to revitalize the Southwest waterfront of the District of Columbia, the owners of the classic Hogate’s Restaurant announced plans to build a large planetarium as a “magnet for tourists” that would also fill a long-felt need for such an educational facility. Meanwhile other groups in the Washington area, ranging from a prominent restaurant owner to a group of educationally minded aerospace promoters, campaigned to establish a major planetarium in Washington. The Smithsonian was unable to respond positively then, and reluctantly continued to resist other entreaties through the 1930s to the late 1950s. As part of its campaign to place these projectors in the world’s capitals, Zeiss contacted the Smithsonian Institution in 1927, offering to help find the means to install one on the National Mall. In the 1920s, the Zeiss Company of Jena, Germany, created a new and very immersive way to explore the night sky using precision motorized optical projection against a large interior domed screen. Now that we are saying good-bye to its original projector, the Zeiss Model VIa, the question is, of course, how did it get here? Whither a Planetarium for Washington, DC? The Albert Einstein Planetarium theater itself is also closing as our multi-year renovation progresses through the Museum, but it will eventually reopen as a fully digital experience. The Zeiss Company no longer services the over 40 year-old model, and though its stars are as sharp as ever, and its skies deep in their dramatic blackness, its celestial motors have become weary, so it has been retired in favor of an ever-improving digital projection system that offers many advantages to meet modern programming needs. Since its opening, and until recent years, our Zeiss Model VIa optical planetarium projector has brought the wonder of the night sky to countless visitors. ![]()
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