Fire Strikes Nikola Tesla’s Laboratory: Restoration Funds Urgently Needed
Laboratory Launches $3 Million Emergency Fund Drive
Urgent Assistance needed to help us preserve Nikola Tesla’s remarkable legacy.
On November 21, a devastating fire erupted at the historic Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe. Located on Long Island in New York State (USA), the Center is the last remaining laboratory of visionary inventor Nikola Tesla. More than 100 firefighters courageously fought the blaze, which caused serious damage to this one-of-a-kind treasure.
Now Tesla Science Center needs your financial support.
The facility is now being thoroughly assessed by engineers to determine the full extent of fire- related damages. According to Mark Thaler, the Center’s historical architect, “Despite the valiant efforts of the first responders, the laboratory is sadly, still at great risk.”
The historic laboratory complex has been in the early stages of an ambitious, $20-million restoration and redevelopment program that would transform the former working laboratory into a global innovation center, an educational facility, and a museum.
But now, because of this major fire, the redevelopment program has just become far more complicated — and far more expensive.
So, the 16.5-acre Center has launched a $3 million fundraising initiative to help us cover the costs of emergency remediation.
While the four walls of Tesla’s main laboratory remain standing, there was significant damage to the roof — original to the 1901 structure — as well as the chimney and cupola, which had been replaced in 2019.
As an immediate priority, emergency funding will help us physically cover the remains of the lab’s roof – and provide urgent, internal stabilization to areas where steel girders have been compromised.
Any contribute will help us:
- Rebuild the roof, and replace compromised steel girders and interior structures
- Re-frame and add supports for shoring laboratory walls
- Replace the chimney and cupola damaged in the fire
- Clean and repoint damaged bricks
- Reglaze windows and restore broken panes
- Revise architectural and engineering plans to account for major fire damage
Over the years, we have forged global friendships and partnerships because the world shares our belief in the significance of our mission. Your involvement has been crucial in helping us honor and sustain the Tesla legacy.
As 2023 draws to a close, we ask you to contemplate the lasting impact your support can have on the future. Your generous donations will propel us forward toward our $3 million goal.
By helping us fulfill our vision for the Center, we’ll all be channeling the confidence and boldness of Nikola Tesla himself – and his boundless spirit of innovation, determination, and resiliency.
Please donate. Please emulate Tesla’s extraordinary example.
