The Adler Planetarium
German emigré Max Adler commissioned this planetarium, the first in the western hemisphere, in the hope that observation of the heavens would instill a desire for peace by illustrating that "all mankind rich and poor, powerful and weak, as well as all nations here and abroad constitute part of one universe." The building's serenely geometric, twelve-sided form, clad in smoothly-finished granite and capped by a copper dome, suggests a classical temple but with an a historical visual vocabulary suited to the scientific novelty of its function; it earned architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld Jr. (1897-1970), a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1930. A series of setbacks creates terraces that were used for astronomical observation before city lights reduced visibility. Vertical fluting highlights the building's twelve corners, as do sculptor Alfonso Ianelli's (1888-1965) bronze plaques, which depict the twelve zodiacal constellations according to the descriptions of the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Bronze-covered entrance doors originally led to the auditorium, situated under the dome, while encircling rooms contain the Adler's collection of astronomical instruments. Due to additions of 1973 and 1981, access is now through a steel-and-glass pavilion that leads to a lower-level exhibition and theater space; escalators provide access to the original auditorium.
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