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Nikola Tesla's Long Island Lab Could Soon Be Razed, Forgotten
By
John Del Signore
Published May 5, 2009
Modified May 5, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 5, 2009
Modified May 5, 2009
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The office products giant that owns a 16-acre Long Island site used by visionary inventor Nikola Tesla is trying to sell the property for $1.6 million, and promises to demolish the remaining buildings for potential buyers. But historians and scientists want the property and the century-old laboratory turned into a science museum, and they've launched a campaign to save the site, called Wardenclyffe. In addition to his laboratory, there was once a 187 feet tall tower, which Tesla used in early 1900s experiments to try to wirelessly transmit information and electricity. The Agfa Corporation has spent some $5 million cleaning up poisonous cadmium that had contaminated the site, and insists it can't afford not to sell the property. Marc Seifer, author of Wizard, a Tesla biography, tells the Times, "It’s hugely important to protect this site. He’s an icon. He stands for what humans are supposed to do — honor nature while using high technology to harness its powers." The online version of the Times article comes with a neat slideshow about Tesla and the site, and there's a lot more on The Tesla Wardenclyffe Project website.
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long island
Tesla
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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.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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