Tesla Museum on the Horizon

The former research lab of famed inventor and scientist Nikola Tesla in Shoreham has taken a step closer to becoming the science center and museum that advocates have long dreamed of.

Legislation sponsored by Suffolk County Legislator Daniel Losquadro (R-Shoreham) and passed by the legislature enables the county to begin the planning process to acquire the 16.2-acre site off Route 25A between Randall Road and Tesla Street.

"We're going to take the lead on this," said Mr. Losquadro. "Everyone has been saying all along they want this property to be preserved." The move comes nearly two years after the cleanup of the contaminated site wrapped to a close. The site is owned by Afga-Gevaert, a Belgian photographic film company.

The county now will contact Afga and begin the appraisal process and discussions to possibly acquire the property, Mr. Losquadro said. He added that he wants to see the government be proactive about it, instead of a reactive effort he fears would follow if an entity offered to purchase the property without preservation in mind.

Jane Alcorn, president of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, the nonprofit organization formerly known as Friends of Science East, said she is happy to see some movement toward transforming the 10,000-square-foot former research lab on the property into a museum.

"We just hope that all the involved parties come to an amicable agreement and allow this to go forward and become a museum," she said.

The group envisions a museum with a permanent exhibit highlighting Tesla, who pioneered the alternating current power system and invented radio and the bladeless steam turbine, which harnessed hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls. Mr. Tesla is believed by many to be the most important scientist and inventor of the modern age. His famous Wardenclyffe tower and laboratory in Shoreham were built between 1901 and 1905. The tower was dismantled in 1917.

Ms. Alcorn said she also wants the museum to foster a wider interest in science with other science-related exhibitions, Saturday science programs, seminars and lecture series, science-related films and a playground that teaches children about physics as they play. She would also like to see the museum serve as a community center for gatherings and meetings.

"The idea is we'd like to have something that's useful for the community as well as providing scientific education," she said.

Despite the difficult economic times, Mr. Losquadro said the county has dedicated land preservation funds - which can't be spent on anything else - available for purchasing the site. And now would be a good time to purchase the property, he added.

"With the economy in a downturn, we have the ability to preserve important lands when they're worth less," he said.

If the county ends up purchasing the land and the building, Mr. Losquadro acknowledged that both would require a significant amount of money for restoration and upkeep and said the county likely wouldn't do more than owning the property. What he is looking for, he said, is a public-private partnership with the Tesla Science Center, which would be responsible for the building and developing the site. He said corporate sponsorships of a museum would also be possible, since Tesla did a lot of pioneering work with wireless communications technology.

Neither Mr. Losquadro or Ms. Alcorn had an indication of what type of time frame it might take to acquire the property and turn it into a museum, citing the willingness of Afga to sell the property to the county. The company is aware of the goal to purchase the property and turn the research lab into a museum, Ms. Alcorn said. Mr. Losquadro said the county's planning and real estate departments are now in charge of the matter and will be contacting the company.