tesla science center at wardenclyffe retained bld architecture to design its first phase of renovation and development for the 16.5 acre property in shoreham, new york. the site was the original laboratory and transmission tower of renowned inventor nikola tesla. the 10,000 gsf laboratory and tower were designed by the legendary architect, stanford white, and constructed in 1901 and 1902.
originally, the property included 200 acres of farmland along the north shore of long island. due to financial constraints, tesla was forced to abandon the property in 1913. by 1915 the property was foreclosed and the tower demolished for scrap in 1917. from 1939 until 1969 the site was acquired by peerless and later operated by agfa-gavaert until 1987. peerless / agfa converted the original tesla lab for the manufacturing of photographic paper emulsions and added a number of industrial buildings to the property. for more than thirty years, the lab building has remained vacant and unoccupied. while in a state of distress, a good amount of the original lab building fabric and the tower foundations remain today. in july 2018, tesla’s wardenclyffe lab was added to the national register of historic places.
