The only planetarium built to a design by Frank Lloyd Wright has reopened to the public. Located at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, it offers shows about stars and space. Its restoration and technical improvements took nearly six years.
The planetarium is part of the college’s Polk County Science Building. Construction was completed in 1958, and the first show took place in 1960. However, when its projector stopped working in 2004, the planetarium fell out of use for more than two decades.
The restoration team began with the outside of the building. Workers installed a new roof, made repairs to prevent water from entering and replaced more than 280 specially made tiles. Inside the 60-seat theatre, they repainted the walls and repaired the dark red floor.
They also removed a cupboard-like room for computers, which allowed them to return the seats to their original circular arrangement. All the sound and visual equipment was replaced. The planetarium will now offer regular public shows, including one about Mars.
The college has 13 buildings designed by Wright, making it the world’s largest collection of his architecture in one place. It has been restoring its Wright buildings since 2007.
