Announcements
Perseverance and Preservation Are Transforming Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Laboratory into a Global Museum and Science Center with Support from National Parks Service
SHOREHAM, NY, September 9, 2022 — Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe (TSCW) was awarded the Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant of $500,000 from the National Parks Service and National Endowment of the Arts that will be used to preserve the laboratory of inventor Nikola Tesla and restore it into a museum and global science center.
The $500,000 in funds is critical to ensure the exterior stabilization and restoration of the circa 1901 laboratory building at Wardenclyffe. The structure is an international landmark with historic significance as the only surviving laboratory of science visionary Nikola Tesla; it is recognized as one of the key sites in global technology history for its part in the science, aerospace, telecommunications, and research hub that emerged in the Long Island/New York corridor beginning with the Cradle of Aviation and growing to include Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Grumman Industries, and others. According to US Senator Chuck Schumer, “Wardenclyffe Laboratory in Shoreham is one of Long Island’s historical treasures, and I was proud to support funding for the Nikola Tesla Science Center through the Save America’s Treasures program. Now, half a million dollars are on the way to stabilize and restore Wardenclyffe, the only remaining laboratory of Nikola Tesla, one of history’s most renowned engineers and visionary inventors. Mr. Tesla immigrated to America’s shores and made world-altering discoveries right here in New York. Tesla Science Center is working each day to educate the public and preserve Tesla’s legacy, and these much-needed federal funds will help fulfil that mission.”
Nikola Tesla is one of history’s most influential inventors whose contributions include the alternating current induction motor, radio and remote-control technology, advancements in neon and fluorescent lighting, the Tesla Turbine, and other innovations. In 1901 Tesla began building Wardenclyffe as a “Radio City” to transmit information and electric power wirelessly around the world. The project was funded by J. P. Morgan, and Tesla commissioned the firm of his close friend, renowned architect Stanford White, to build the brick laboratory and a 187-foot transmitting tower. The project closed before completion in 1903 when Morgan withdrew funding, and the tower was dismantled in 1917. The site was used commercially for over 50 years, then vacated and listed for sale in 2012. Wardenclyffe was acquired by TSCW in 2013 after a record-breaking crowdfund raised the purchase funds from 33,000 donors based in 108 countries. Wardenclyffe was placed on the US National Historic Register in 2018 after receiving another record number of endorsements from around the world.
Since 2013, TSCW has raised $11 million of the $20 million required to restore the laboratory and site into a global museum and science center for education and innovation. During restoration efforts, TSCW actively hosts events and programs year-round, both onsite and virtual. In the past year, TSCW has hosted guests from 22 countries, with a total constituent base that encompasses over 200,000 followers in 99 countries, from Antarctica to Zambia. Tours are conducted in all seasons for visitors who travel from around the world to see the site of Nikola Tesla’s only surviving laboratory. Onsite events are in high demand and TSCW offers several annual events that are established visitor attractions, such as the Tesla Birthday Expo. In 2022 this event brought over 2,000 visitors to Wardenclyffe to witness the world’s largest Tesla coil, a 4-story model that was demonstrated on the original tower base that once held Tesla’s transmitting tower. An outdoor Expo provided attendees of all ages with an interactive, STEAM-focused experience that featured robotics, HAM radio, Tesla Car Showcase, Tesla-inspired wine experience, neon sculptures, and youth activity station. Hands-on exhibits offered both education and entertainment to visitors who explored electromagnetic models and history displays that featured virtual reality effects, theremin music, Tesla’s inventions, and more.
Marc Alessi, TSCW Executive Director, states “Wardenclyffe is a place where perseverance, preservation, and innovation come together for the benefit of our community. Nikola Tesla was not just as an inventor of the past. He was as an innovator of our present and future, a visionary whose work continues to inspire engineers, scientists, and lifelong learners to be their own version of Tesla. The Save America’s Treasures grant is helping us build a space where people of all ages can innovate and learn.”
From 1999 to 2019, Save America’s Treasures has provided over $339 million to help preserve and conserve nationally significant collections, artifacts, structures, and sites. Requiring a dollar-for-dollar private match, the grant will help TSCW leverage private and public funding opportunities.
