photo: NASA and STScI
Astronomers have sought out Tucson's dry, clear skies and nearby mountain peaks for a century and a new Fourth Avenue bar is bringing that same stellar devotion to the city's nightlife.
Now open at 536 N. 4th Ave in the old North on 4th, Sky Bar is built around the concept that astronomy is a signature trait of Tucson. Building and business owner Tony Vaccaro, who opened Brooklyn Pizza 13 years ago, bills his new venture as an "Astronomy-influenced, solar-powered planetarium bar."
"The sky is beautiful here all of the time, day and night. Why not theme a place after that? This is the astronomy capital of the United States, so we're already predisposed for that," Vacarro said.
"We're going to take deep-space images and pipe them to a monitor display in the bar. Imaging has come a long way. We can take pictures now that NASA was taking 10 years ago," he elucidated.
A rooftop telescope an 8-inch Celestron model, fully computerized, GPS-enabled and with light-pollution filtering will supply still celestial images to one monitor, while another will feature an astronomy software program that displays meteor showers, eclipses, planets and an array of other celestial images.
Sky Bar also bought more solar panels for the array atop the building it shares with Brooklyn. Brooklyn has been generating about half its electricity through a rooftop solar array that went online in September 2008, and with new purchases by Sky Bar, the roof is at capacity with 78 215-watt panels. The tables are made from bamboo or sorghum, and the renovation used recycled materials whenever possible.
Taking advantage of the open, welcoming space provided by the new patio and garage doors, Vacarro said Sky Bar is open every day. From noon until 5 p.m. it is an all-ages cafe, with an espresso machine, as well as tea, juice and soda and it's 21 and over from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
