Four years ago, it seemed like Wardenclyffe, the former laboratory of famed inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla, may be doomed. That was before a massive crowdfunding campaign raised enough funds to help a local community group purchase the property with the aim of transforming it into a science center. READ
Congratulations to Jane Alcorn, who received the Suffolk Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution 2015 Community Service Award, presented in October by chairwoman Caroline Stepnoski at the Suffolk County Fair.
Nikola Tesla’s final laboratory in Shoreham will be open to the public for three hours later this month. (Credit: Tesla Society, courtesy)
You’ve likely driven past legendary scientist Nikola Tesla’s lab in Shoreham many times in the past.
And it’s even more likely you’ve never set foot on the lab’s grounds.
You can change all that from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 25. (more…)
COURTESY PHOTO | Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić speaks on Monday at Wardenclyffe.
After purchasing the site of Nikola Tesla’s final laboratory in May following a viral online fundraiser, a Shoreham nonprofit welcomed the President of Serbia to unveil a statue dedicated to the Serbian scientist on Monday.
President Tomislav Nikolić – in the country as the United Nations General Assembly met on Monday – offered the statue as a gift from his country. The bronze sculpture which stands on a granite base, crafted by Serbian artist Nikola Jankovic, faces Route 25A at the lab’s site in Shoreham, known as Wardenclyffe, depicting Tesla looking down at his hands.
Jane Alcorn, president of the nonprofit which owns the land, said on Tuesday that the event was “astounding,” drawing close to 300 people including local – and with Nikolic on site, international – politicians alike. Music was played during the ceremony by members of Shoreham-Wading River High School, a Serbian violinist, as well.
“They are very proud of their most famous son,” Alcorn said.
Leading up to the May purchase of Wardenclyffe, web comic Matt Inman, who was also present at Monday’s ceremony, spearheaded a campaign to help the nonprofit raise the funds necessary to purchase the 15.6-acre site. Nearly $1.4 million was raised, and in May, Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe bought the land for $850,000, nearly half of the original asking price.
Alcorn said today that moving forward, the nonprofit is working on rehabbing the buildings and long-term, they hope to partner with Stony Brook University to offer science courses on site. The organization has said in the past that in order to achieve its long-term goals, as much as $10 million could need to be raised.
Watch a video of Monday’s event, courtesy of RememberTesla.com, below
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO
The new owners of famous inventor Nikola Tesla’s Long Island laboratory opened its gates Monday afternoon to share the history of the site and let outsiders on the property for the first time in years.
The Wardenclyffe property off Route 25A in Shoreham was sold last Thursday for $850,000 to the nonprofit Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, who hope to turn the property into a museum and science center to honor Mr. Tesla’s legacy.
The purchase was paid for by a state reimbursement grant and almost $1.4 million in online contributions from more than 33,000 contributors from 108 countries.
Mr. Tesla, a rival of Thomas Edison and a pioneer in the use of alternating current, conducted experiments at the Wardenclyffe laboratory, built in 1901, in hopes of providing free, wireless electricity to the world.
The tower designed to provide the electrical energy was torn down in 1917 and, after Mr. Tesla’s death, the property was later leased to a photography company, which dumped waste on the land.
Today the property shows the age and neglect. Graffiti marks up the walls and there are signs of squatters who lived in the vacant buildings.
Nonprofit officials said they have obtained permission to see the original blueprints for Mr. Tesla’s lab, and plan to use the designs to restore the property. The project is expected to cost $10 million in total.