{"id":942374,"date":"2026-10-27T05:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/942374\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T05:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:24:24","slug":"frank-lloyd-wrights-only-planetarium-reopens-in-florida-after-6-year-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/942374\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s Only Planetarium Reopens in Florida After 6-Year Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated2 min read<\/p>\n

The only planetarium that Frank Lloyd Wright<\/a> ever built shut down in 2004, more than four decades after the famous American architect completed the dome-topped structure on the grounds of Florida Southern College<\/a> (FSC). The projector died, according to the Lakeland-based school, rendering the building functionally obsolete.<\/p>\n

Now, the entire planetarium\u2014with a new, state-of-the-art projector\u2014just emerged from a six-year restoration and is once again welcoming students and the public.<\/p>\n

\"ModernFlorida Southern College\/Robin C. Hill<\/p>\n

The newly restored Planetarium at Florida Southern College.<\/p>\n

Led by campus architect Jeff Baker of MCWB Architects, the long-awaited project is part of a larger effort<\/a> by FSC to revive all 13 of its buildings by Wright, who conceived a master plan called \u201cChild of the Sun\u201d for the Lakeland college between 1938 and 1958. Complete with academic buildings, esplanades, chapels, and a library, the 113-acre campus is home to the largest collection<\/a> of Wright-designed buildings anywhere in the world. In 2012, the National Park Service<\/a> granted National Historic Landmark status to the school.<\/p>\n

\"InteriorFlorida Southern College<\/p>\n

The project restored Wright\u2019s \u201cCherokee red\u201d flooring and original seating arrangement.<\/p>\n

The two-phase renovation of the planetarium, which is located in the Polk Science Building, began in 2021 with the exterior. The team updated the roof, flashing (weatherproofing), and stucco cladding, and replaced 280 custom textile-block tiles on the facade. Wright developed his signature textile-block system<\/a> in the 1920s, applying geometric patterns to hand-cast concrete tiles and then sheathing both exteriors and interiors of his buildings to create a tactile, woven look. The planetarium\u2019s tiles are among the architect\u2019s most straightforward, defined by simple horizontal bands and a vertical \u201cstitching\u201d motif.<\/p>\n

\"ArchitecturalFlorida Southern College<\/p>\n

A detail shot of the textile-block tiles.<\/p>\n

By 2023, the project moved indoors. The main objective with the interior was to restore Wright\u2019s original vision, which had been augmented through the years with awkward additions, like a computer closet from the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Now, formerly deep-blue walls are a calming neutral hue, while the flooring is back to \u201cCherokee Red,\u201d another Wright signature found throughout many of his Usonian designs.<\/a> Local artisans also collaborated on restoring the structure\u2019s 60-seat theater, reviving the original circular floor plan with a seating system crafted out of plywood and red vinyl upholstery.<\/p>\n

\"ModernFlorida Southern College<\/p>\n

The Polk Science Building at Florida Southern College.<\/p>\n

Capping off the project is the addition of a new Cosm projector<\/a> and Bowens sound system<\/a>, both of which provide state-of-the-art functionality befitting a modern planetarium. Perhaps best of all, it\u2019s not just FSC students who will benefit: The public can experience the planetarium as intended through a series of four rotating shows each week. Among the scheduled offerings is \u201cDestination Mars: The New Frontier,\u201d which focuses on humanity\u2019s epic endeavors to the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cReopening the planetarium allows us to bring an important part of Florida Southern\u2019s history back to life while creating new opportunities for our students and the community,\u201d said Tory King, director of tourism operations and visitor experience at FSC, in a statement. \u201cThe architectural restoration brought the space back, and the new technology now allows us to return it to active educational and public use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets<\/a> are $20 per person and $15 per person for families and groups of four or more.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2 min read The only planetarium that Frank Lloyd Wright ever built shut down in 2004, more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,2372,509428,460,430,134,308081,2387,245518,509427,366213],"class_list":["post-942374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-b90ae574-abfb-4a41-be82-0faa6b26d97a","tag-design","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-3","tag-shorttitle-frank-lloyd-wrights-only-planetarium-reopens","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}