As work began on the $93 million renovation and expansion project, all contents had to be removed and securely stored, with archival packing and transportation key to the entire operation. Work was handled by Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based American Relocation & Logistics (ARL) that also accomplished the re-installation.
Transportation and setting up of such heavy and fragile items as the Zeiss Mark IV planetarium projector and the original 40-inch central glass plug of the Palomar Telescope that weighs 1,250 lbs. involved heavy duty rigging that used forklifts and gantry lifts.
Craig Fulmer, ARL’s corporate relocation manager, notes that, “Since some of the items in the move were rare and irreplaceable, including optics for the Observatory’s telescopes, a great deal of care and expertise was involved.”
