Things look pretty quiet here at the beginning of August. I was told that a lot of sheet rock was delivered yesterday, much of which is stored inside. The windows are scheduled for delivery and installation sometime today. Once they are in place, the remaining sheet rock will be put up on the interior walls.

Inside the auditorium, work continues on the air handling system.

Out in the lobby most of the ceiling support structure has been completed. On the West end of the lobby we see the installation of one of the display hangers. The workers asked me why there were twelve hangers since there were only nine planets. We had a nice discussion of other possible things that could be hung from the Downing Planetarium ceiling, including comets, asteroids, models of the Space Shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.



On the other end of the lobby the ceiling lights were being installed. The position of these was carefully calculated some time ago, and the positions painted onto the lobby floor. A special laser marker is placed on the floor, with the beam showing the position on the ceiling for the lamp. Since the lamps make an arc on the lobby ceiling, instead of a simple grid pattern, special care is needed to get them placed just right.

When I arrived on-site today they were working on putting the waterproof felting on the roof. As made the standard "3rd Floor shot" about an hour later, they just finished putting the last bit in place at the peak of the Downing Planetarium. The timing couldn't have been better. The weather forecast I heard this morning said there was a chance of showers or thundershowers over the next few days. Had the felting not been laid down, water would have come through the expansion joints on the shear panels, soaked the insulation underneath and created a disaster. All the roof drains and waterproofing on the roof have been leak-tested, so we are ready.

The door frames have been installed. The materials for the aluminum window frames have been delivered to the shop where they will be assembled. Delivery and installation of the windows should be sometime next week.



The sheet rock for the Preparation Room (left) and the Resource Center (right) is being completed. No work was going on in the auditorium today.

Work on the lobby ceiling framing and lighting is nearly completed. On the left we see Mark Riordan, foreman for the electrical work done by Westech, installing the complex maze of conduit that feeds all the ceiling lights. On the right one of the lights that will shine down on the outer wall of the auditorium is being installed.

Today was very special. Dr. F. Harold Downing, accompanied by his son Tom, made a special trip to see the inside of the Downing Planetarium for the very first time. In this picture we see Dr. K.P. Wong, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences on the right, and Dr. Stanley Ziegler, Associate Dean, on the left. Dr. Tom Downing is behind and to the left.


As Dr. Downing got his first view of the planetarium lobby, he was greeted by Dr. Steve White, Director of the Downing Planetarium. On the left we see Dr. Steve Schmeiser, who has worked closely with the Downing family on the funding for this project. In the picture on the upper right we see representatives of at least three of the local media who came to cover this event.


As Dr. Downing entered the auditorium, he remarked that it all looked a lot bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. In the picture on the left, Steve White explains to Dr. Downing and his son Tom how planetarium shows will be created once the dome and the projectors are installed.

Many of the people involved in the planetarium project were on hand for this occasion. Kurt Zumwalt, the General Contractor for the building, is seen to the left of Tom Downing, who is speaking at the center of this picture.



As Dr. Downing was brought into the Resource Center, he was told about all the computers that this room would hold for the teachers and children who would come to the planetarium. He was also (smile) invited to climb the ladder up to the catwalk, but at age 95 he said that he might have a little trouble getting back down again.



Patricia Chung of KSEE24 News interviewed Dr. Downing for local television. The spot aired during the evening news.

Steve White was interviewed also, giving him a chance to explain how the Downing Planetarium will enrich all of us in the San Joaquin Valley.



Dr. Downing seemed very pleased with the building that his generosity has made possible. We all very much enjoyed being with him as he toured his planetarium.

The drywall seems to be pretty much installed in the auditorium and the other rooms in the planetarium. Work continues on the rather tricky and detailed installation of the drywall in the lobby. There are lots of curved surfaces and small spaces that have to be filled. If you look closely, you can see a third worker wedged in behind the steel studs in the picture at the upper right. "I feel like I'm in jail," I heard him say.





Once the drywall is installed, all the joints and nail holes have to be made to disappear. Special tape and joint compound is used. On the left we see Pete Almendarez doing the finish work around one of the doors leading into the auditorium. On the right we see Al Romero applying joint compound to the previously taped joints in the walls of the Preparation Room.

The Third Floor picture today shows few exterior changes. The windows have not arrived yet, but should be here very soon. Hazelton is back to do some concrete work for the building grounds.

Inside the Downing Planetarium we find that all of the drywall has now been installed. The only work remaining on the drywall is a bit more taping and joint compound. After that the walls will be reading for painting.



It was about 2 p.m. on a very hot Fresno day when I talked to the workers laying out the forms. The soil around the Planetarium had the consistency of Moon dust. Some of it was being watered down a bit to control the dust and prepare the ground. The forms I saw today were for the various building entrances, and for a sidewalk going around the building. I was told to expect a concrete pour on Thursday.

It is a rather gloomy Thursday, as remnants of former hurricane Bret send moisture over the Sierras and make clouds over the Valley. I had classes all morning, so I missed the concrete trucks coming in and pouring some of the walkways around the Downing Planetarium. The crew has already done the finish work on the concrete poured at 7:30 this morning, and are preparing the main walkway and front plaza today.



As you look into the lobby from the Southeast end of the building, you can see the finish work on the entrance sidewalk. Inside the lobby the drywall is being taped and filled. In the view on the right we see the walkway on the Southwest end of the building. They must have poured this one this morning. In the insets we see views of the Northeast and Northwest ends of the back of the building.

By late Friday morning the main approach from the University campus to the Downing Planetarium had been poured.
About half an hour before the pictures above were taken, Builders Concrete and the concrete finishing crew from Hazelton, Inc. did the pour for the main walkway.



This all needed to be done this morning before the predicted 103-degree temperatures arrived. This is very high-energy work, and is best done while things are fairly cool. Rod Hazelton (in the hat) is directing the flow of the concrete. We didn't need a concrete pump for this part of the job, so a simpler technique called "tailgating" is used to make the pour directly from the truck.

The flatwork is nearing completion with the pouring of the walkway from the parking lot.

If you look very carefully at the large version of the picture on the left, you can see the rearmost window frame being installed. On the right are the window frames for the North end of the building.



Rod Hazelton and his crew continue the concrete work. The curb on San Ramon is given its final finish. This was a hassle to install, since the CSUF grounds people picked this week to begin heavy watering of the field next door. The water run-off produced two feet of muck at the roadside that had to be removed and replaced before the concrete went in.

On the right the last form for the front entrance area is put in place for tomorrow's final concrete pour.