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"Day to Day" contributor Jennifer Sharpe has a good piece today on the history and future of the laser light show that opened to huge popularity at Griffith Observatory on Monday nights in 1973. Laserium spread to 46 cities, but lost its novelty over time: "Its once cutting edge projections now just looked like mammoth precursors to the modern day screen saver." There was no place for a dated laser show in the new planetarium, so the equipment is warehoused in Van Nuys where the father of Laserium, Ivan Dryer, tries to keep the dream alive. The last remaining Laserium venue in the world, Sharpe tells the NPR audience, is "a domeless room in the back, crammed with thrift store couches and office chairs, lined up to face a screen." Good news for fans: Laserium will move into the Spruce Goose dome in Long Beach this January, with a more powerful sound system than it could ever have in Griffith Park. Like, wow. Audio will be posted here about noon.
Photo: laserium.com