February 1, 2000
On the evening of February 1, we had a gorgeous red sunset. All the exterior lights for the Downing Planetarium had been completed a few days before. I shot pictures from several angles as the light changed and the sunset reflected off the copper roof and the sign on the front of the building. If you click on these images to get the full-sized version, note that they are 1280x960 pixels and are around 170K each. This starship is just about ready for its maiden voyage.
Earlier this same day, several trades were present to finish up some details
on the building. The painters were here to apply the final coat of paint
to the ceiling of the lobby and to the interior walls. The windows were given the final layer of sealant around the edges, completing the last stage of the EIFS exterior installation. The walls are now completely weatherproof.
Inside the Star Theater I saw that Steve White had been getting ready for an actual show in the Downing Planetarium. I found his checklist taped to the console.
Full public shows are still several weeks away, but we are close to our shakedown cruise.
February 3, 2000
We haven't seen this for a while--a visit from the concrete truck. Today
we are pouring the main portion of the Star Party Plaza on the North side
of the Downing Planetarium. This is the area where telescopes will be
set up to view the moon, planets and stars. So in addition to seeing our
simulated sky inside, visitors can see the real thing outside. More concrete
will be added in the future, including a separate circular pad for our
Remote Telescope.
Inside the lobby has been cleaned. The floor is coated with a special non-skid finish that brings a polished look to our granite floor. We are gearing up for the Building Dedication on February 5th.
February 5, 2000
The night of the Building Dedication is here. Invitations were sent out to a host of people who had contributed their time, money and expertise to building the Downing Planetarium. Attempts to keep the list below the 74 seating capacity of the Star Theater were in vain. I didn't hear the final count, but around a hundred people attended this celebration. It was a glorious night.
There was wine in the lobby, food in the Preparation Room, and computer
images in the Resource Room featuring building construction and pictures
from the Hubble Space Telescope.
As I looked through the pictures I had taken, I realized that I had not
even come close to recording the presence of all the wonderful and generous
people who were there that night.
I was fretting about this a bit when my wife reminded me that she and I were guests there too. I had no need to shift into "Wedding Photographer Mode" to avoid missing Uncle Fred and Aunt Minnie at table 12. (I shot a few weddings in my youth before getting a Ph.D. in Chemistry.)
The star of the show was, of course, Dr. F. Harold Downing. Here we see
him talking to Randy Steiner from the Central Valley Astronomers. Randy
later told me he had checked out wheelchair access in all parts of the
Planetarium and found it excellent. There was even special seating in
the Star Theater that allowed him to shift from the wheelchair to regular
reclined planetarium seating.
President Welty was our host, and introduced a series of speakers, including
Associate Provost Brandt Kehoe, and Dean of the College of Science and
Mathematics K.P. Wong. He then presented Dr. Downing with a picture of
"his Planetarium" as a thank you for his unprecedented generosity. His
gift of well over a million dollars was the largest ever given in support
of the sciences at California State University, Fresno.
Dr. Downing will be 96 this February 18. Steve Schmeiser, who worked closely with the Downing family on the financial matters, led us all in a slightly early rendition of Happy Birthday. After a few words of his own, Dr. Downing then turned the speech-making duties over to his son, Dr. Tom Downing.
During his remarks, Tom Downing revealed that his father had made a bequest of an additional million dollars to be placed in an endowment fund. The interest from this fund will pay a major part of the daily operating expenses of the planetarium in perpetuity. Because of this, we can keep our ticket prices very low, allowing access to the planetarium by everyone. (We still have more equipment and facilities to purchase, so please continue to support planetarium fund-raisers!)
It was finally time. Up to now the doors to the Star Theater had been
kept locked. The people in the first seating entered the Theater, settled
into the seats, let their eyes adapt in the red light, and awaited Steve
White, who presented the first of many shows to come.
I was in the second seating, and tried to photograph the images on the dome, but to no avail. I just sat back and enjoyed my first show in the Downing Planetarium. It was glorious.
The children and adults in the Central Valley are in for a very new experience when we begin public operation around May of this year. Stay tuned for special Gala events in the month of April that will precede the beginning of a normal schedule of presentations.
At the conclusion of the second show I emerged to find that Dr. Downing
and many others had left for home. Those remaining stayed and enjoyed
the unseasonably warm evening, savoring this exceptional moment.
Click here to see the next series of images.
If you have any questions or comments, please send me an e-mail at david_zellmer@csufresno.edu.