Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Telectroscope Brings London & Brooklyn Eye to Eye
By
John Del Signore
Published May 15, 2008
Modified May 27, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published May 15, 2008
Modified May 27, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The most intriguing part of the Brooklyn Bridge 125th birthday party announced last week is the mysterious Telectroscope, located at Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Landing near the bridge. In this case the mystery is quite deliberate; the installation’s creator Paul St George has crafted a whimsical back story for the device, which purports to connect New Yorkers with Londoners using giant parabolic mirrors installed in a forgotten Trans-Atlantic tunnel. UPDATE:More photos here.
St George claims that his great-grandfather, inventor Alexander Stanhope St George, not only built the only working telectroscope in the late 19th century, but also worked on an unfinished tunnel across the pond, which Paul St George has been busy completing in time for the unveiling this month. The timing is apropos because, according to the artist, his great-grandfather attended the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883.
This amusing 1898 Times article marvels at news of the non-existent device and credits inventor Jan Szczepanik. And the Times of London points out that the word Telectroscope came about when a French editor misread a report about the invention of a thing called the Electroscope. At any rate, today’s Telectroscope, measuring about 6 feet in diameter, will probably use broadband internet to transmit live video between Brooklyn and Tower Bridge in London.
Produced by the same crowd that built that massive ambulatory “Sultan’s Elephant” in London two years ago, it’s expected to draw throngs on both ends of the visual tube. But if you’ve got someone on the other side you want to wave to at a certain time, you can try bypassing the lines by emailing St George with an explanation why you need priority access. It will be open for business from May 22nd to June 15th, supposedly 24/7.
Tagged
125th
birthday
bridge
brooklyn
celebration
london
Paul St George
telectroscope
tower
Victorian
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Why LCD Soundsystem's 'New York, I Love You' is still the city's most honest anthem
The song continues to resonate 20 years after its release, even showing up in movies and TV to convey people’s mixed feelings toward the city.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 30, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. ET
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
By
Alec Hamilton
How the Village Halloween Parade keeps its soul
By
Hannah Frishberg
'You Can See Everything' … as long as you go to Staten Island
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .