Renovations started on another existing building on the Wardenclyffe property that will eventually house the new Eugene Sayan Visitor Center, according to a recent newsletter. Construction is expected to be completed by early summer 2026, and the center will be open on Fridays and Saturdays. As announced back in 2023, the visitor center project was funded by donations from Softheon CEO Eugene Sayan, the Ludwick Foundation, National Grid, Suffolk County, New York State Economic Development and others.

“At its heart, Tesla Science Center is dedicated to preserving Nikola Tesla’s past, present and future legacy,” interim executive director Douglas Borge said in a release. “This visitor center will help us live that mission every day. It is one step on the journey, and we are so grateful to everyone who has made it possible.”

The new center will have 2,200 square feet of indoor space and outdoor areas, and will provide opportunities for expanded programming, including historical tours and docent training that follow Smithsonian standards. Also, it will help the growth of STEAM programs — science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — for community schools, libraries and events. 

There will also be an exhibition and preservation space for archives and artifacts, which will be the center’s first. Administrative offices will be there to try to reduce operating costs and direct more resources to programs and further restoration. Above all, it will act as a consistent place for members and visitors to connect with Nikola Tesla’s story. 

In spring 2023, the nonprofit foundation that runs the science center began work on a $20 million project to preserve Tesla’s last remaining laboratory and redevelop the 16-acre property into a world-class science center. The foundation had then raised $14 million toward the $20 million goal — including $1 million from Elon Musk, who named his company after the inventor — when the project got underway. The site was also added to the U.S. National Historic Register in 2018.

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This year’s expo is set for Saturday, July 12, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Tesla Science Center on the grounds of Wardenclyffe, Tesla’s Long Island laboratory. Thousands of guests are expected to attend.

This family-friendly celebration of science, technology and innovation will feature speakers, exhibits, hands-on activities and other interactive experiences. There will also be refreshments and Long Island’s largest drone show.

“Guests can expect everything from high school robotics clubs to some of Long Island’s leading tech companies that are showcasing their technology and trying to educate people,” said Marc Alessi, executive director of the center. “Most of the tech that’s being showcased has a tie to Tesla’s work here on site or his career, whether it’s electricity and energy or wireless technologies.”

New this year are representatives from the Space Force, who will deliver presentations detailing how this new branch of the military is advancing work in space. There will also be a local oyster farm that will demonstrate how they use drone and robotic technologies to harvest their oysters.

In lieu of fireworks, Sky Elements, a Guinness World record-holder, will finish the night with a coordinated 300-drone routine. This non-polluting option is in line with Tesla’s desire for a sustainable future. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that Nikola Tesla, as early as the 1890s, was writing about the importance of sustainability in everything from food to energy,” said Mr. Alessi. “He was into hydropower, he wanted to explore wind power, and he would write about solar power, not knowing how it was going to be accomplished yet, but knowing that it would be a possibility.” 

Construction at the science center is slated to resume this year, beginning with the visitor’s center and then the lab building, which was damaged by fire in 2023. Even the construction project is being planned with Tesla’s legacy in mind.

“And so as we ramp up, even when we do the construction and we’re planning the buildings, we’re planning on using some of the latest technologies and showcasing them so that we can educate the public about what’s possible in terms of sustainability,” Mr. Alessi said.

Mr. Alessi is hopeful for the future of the center and grateful for the community’s response to the Expo.

“Year over year, it improves, and it’s a big shot in the arm for our community to be able to come out and get a taste of what this place is really going to represent once we fully open the doors,” he said.

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“Michelle and I were at the end of a training run in Wading River. We had about a 10th of a mile to go when she had a heart attack right my arms. I tried CPR, and unfortunately, it didn’t work,” said Mr. Capone. 

The race is using the same 5K course that the Shoreham-Wading River School District uses for their July 4 and Thanksgiving races, which Ms. Bonura often used in training.

“I chose that course because that was one of Michelle’s favorite courses that she ran with her sons, who had gone to Shoreham-Wading River,” he said. “As the race finishes, we’ll be having a DJ with music, pizzas, ice cream, sodas, and do a little party.”

The race is expecting between 250 and 300 people to participate. If enough children sign up, there will also be a kid’s fun-run. The cost to sign up is $30. Top three finishers will receive special recognition, and all participants get a finishing medal. The event is sponsored by Long Island Running Club. Proceeds will benefit the Tesla Science Center, the Lightning Warriors, a group of athletes that Ms. Bonura coached and the new Michelle Bonura Memorial Scholarship Fund. 

“There’s two scholarship funds that we’re setting up. One with the Shoreham-Wading River School District, since her two sons graduated from there, and the other one will be with the Sachem School District. We set that up because she had taught for 35 years at Sachem,” said Mr. Capone.

Because of the event’s early success and what it means to those who knew her, Mr. Capone is already counting on making the 5K an annual event.

“Michelle was a very multi-talented athlete. She had done marathons, triathlons — she even did a couple of Half Ironman events. And she was more than just a runner; she was also a very good cyclist, a swimmer, golfer — very multi-talented,” said Mr. Capone. “It’s not going to be a one and done. We plan on doing this again next year.”

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“The entirety of the project was [estimated at] $20 million when we first started,” said Marc Alessi, executive director of the Tesla Science Center. “We had about 14 million raised prior to the fire. So getting this funding is important as we are getting back to our capital campaign, looking to finish it so that we can not only fix what’s happened with the fire, but actually move forward and finish the project.”

The goal of the New York State historic preservation program is “to improve, protect, preserve, rehabilitate, restore or acquire properties listed on the State or National Registers of Historic Places and for structural assessments and/or planning for such projects.” The Wardenclyffe property was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 2018. 

Private donations continue to be crucial to the project. These government grants are reimbursement grants, meaning the Tesla Science Center still needs to raise their own money before the state and federal funding kicks in. “We still have to raise private donations. The way government grants work, they are reimbursement grants. So it’s great that you raise about half of the money from these government grants. But we still have to continue raising private foundation money. We have to match this funding from the private sector as well, and that’s what we’re focused on right now,” Mr. Alessi said.

Nikola Tesla came to America from what is now Croatia with a drive to invent. Among his many innovations were the alternate current power system, fluorescent lighting, and the remote control. “Tesla was a futurist, and even back in 1904 he was predicting things like the smartphone … In his time, people thought he was crazy, but he could just see where things were going,” said Mr. Alessi. “People will get a sense of the history [through the site], but kids will also get access to groundbreaking and global level STEM programming, which is extremely important, especially in a place like Long Island where innovation is a big part of our economy.”

The Tesla Center is gearing up for their 2025 fundraising, which will include another metal recycling event in partnership with Gershow recycling and the Tesla Birthday Expo. The fire has been a setback for the restoration, but Mr. Alessi remains hopeful the project will be a success. “We’re looking to remobilize this spring. Because of the fire, it’s going to extend the timeline. We’re probably going to be opening our first building, which is not the lab building, later this year. The lab building itself, as a result of the fire, most likely won’t open until 2028.”

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“They were cutting metal with torches that create sparks, and where they were working that day was right above the roof where the fire started,” TSCW executive director Marc Alessi said in an interview. “The only thing [arson investigators] couldn’t rule out was contractor error.” 

Mr. Alessi said the contractor’s insurance company recently completed a six-month investigation into the fire and denied the claim — prompting the science center to appeal the decision. The contractor identified in the fire marshal’s report did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Alessi made the comments during an interview about a fundraiser this Friday, Sept. 13, at the Cinema Arts Centre community theater in Huntington, to raise both money and awareness of the plight of the embattled lab complex. The event will feature a screening of the director’s cut of the film “Invisible Threads — From Wireless to War,” followed by a Q & A with the filmmaker.

“There’s a lot of people on Long Island, despite all the reporting that’s been done, that aren’t aware of this project, and some of them are science enthusiasts and likely donors,” Mr. Alessi said. “So events like Friday night are really important to get out into the public consciousness, get people to learn more about [groundbreaking inventor Nikola] Tesla.”

The site was added to the U.S. National Historic Register in 2018. 

In the spring of 2023, the nonprofit foundation that runs the science center began an ambitious $20 million project to preserve Tesla’s last remaining laboratory and redevelop the 16-acre property into a world-class science center. The foundation had raised $14 million toward the $20 million goal — including $1 million from Elon Musk, who named his company after the inventor — when the project got underway.

Then, in November, a fire tore through the roof of the 10,000-square-foot lab and destroyed steel girders that date back to the turn of the 20th century.

“We’re looking to rehab whatever steel girders from Tesla’s time that we can,” Mr. Alessi said. “There’s probably not many that we could save, so we’re going to have to fabricate to that time period the steel girders, which is going to be an expensive proposition, and then just redo the roof.”

He said the foundation must raise a total of $10 million, which includes the $6 million yet to be raised for the overall project, $3 million in fire damages and another million needed to meet the increased costs of completing the redevelopment plan. In order to keep the project moving forward, according to Mr. Alessi, the foundation needs to raise at least $2.5 million in the next year.

The project is an effort to spotlight and celebrate one of the most remarkable innovators of the modern era.

Born in 1856 in what is now Croatia, Tesla moved to the U.S. at the age of 28 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He went to work for Thomas Edison, though he soon struck out on his own.

At the Shoreham site of the Tesla Science Center, he built a massive laboratory and a 187-foot wireless communication tower and power transmitter, both designed by famed architect Stanford White. The effort was called the Wardenclyffe Tower project, but it ran out of money before its completion.

A brilliant engineer but a hapless businessman, Tesla invented prototypes for a bounty of technologies that drive most modern communication, including wi-fi, radio, remote control and an induction motor powered by AC (alternating current), which outperformed his rival and former boss Edison’s DC (direct current) system.

“He never married or had a family — he just wanted to invent,” Mr. Alessi said. “He didn’t want to own things. He didn’t want to be Elon Musk, a CEO of a company. His mentality was ‘if I make billions for industrialists, they’ll always invest in my lab and I’ll live a good life and just invent things.’ He knew he had a unique mind for invention.”

In 1904, the prescient creator predicted the cellphone, describing a “cheap and simple receiving device, which might be carried in one’s pocket” to a Boston Sunday Globe reporter.

“One day, a businessman in New York will pull a device out of his pocket and call anywhere in the world, wirelessly,” Tesla told the newspaper, according to Mr. Alessi.

“In his time, that’s why people thought he was crazy, because he would say things like that,” the executive director said. “People couldn’t fathom it, but he knew where it would go.”

“He was part of our local community and he basically changed the world,” said Mr. Alessi, who lives three houses away from Tesla’s former home in Shoreham. “He was almost forgotten. This is his last standing lab — or the last authentic piece of history that touched him — and I think we all owe it to the man that has changed our lives to preserve his legacy.”

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Rumors crescendoed from whispers to blasts on social media as time went on without an answer to the big question. While the Science Center claimed to be committed to transparency, a Nov. 30 Facebook post offered no news on the cause, only word that an emergency restoration fund campaign had been launched and gushes of thanks to the hundred or so firefighters and EMTs who responded to the blaze.

Although it was a near-disaster for the organization, which has been working to transform the last standing laboratory of famed scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla into a museum and science center, good news came of it: The building still stands.

Marc Alessi, executive director of Tesla Science Center, said at the post- fire press conference that a rough estimate of $3 million now needs to be raised for repairs — in addition to the $6 million the organization was short on pre-fire projects, for a total of $9 million. He quipped that any Tesla buff would understand why those particular numbers were notable. (Google “Tesla 3-6-9 theory.”)

Besides the historic buildings not being reduced to rubble, the organization is using the fire to rally the troops. Word has spread far and wide, and well wishes have arrived on social media from as far as Australia. At the press conference, politicians from every level of government pledged support for the rebuild. With the fire-damaged areas closed to the public, the organization went ahead with its annual holiday tree lighting on Dec. 6.

The enthusiasm and positivity shown by the community in the aftermath of the fire “warmed our hearts and illuminated the Tesla Science Center with a spirit that is truly unbreakable,” said a Facebook post after the tree lighting. But comments on said post reveal that longtime supporters are growing disillusioned with the organization to which they’ve devoted their time and money for years.

The fire occurred Nov. 21 and, to date, no statement about its cause has been made. In a Dec. 15 tele- phone interview, Mr. Alessi said the organization is still awaiting the report from the Brookhaven fire marshal and Suffolk County detectives. “We’re not allowed to disturb the site until insurance companies do their investigations, which should be done soon,” Mr. Alessi said. He said the roof will be rebuilt from scratch, as the steel girders that support it were deemed damaged beyond repair by the fire. The brick walls will need to be treated with polyurethane to stanch damage done by the water used to put out the fire.

Mr. Alessi said that although the fire set the organization back with work on the laboratory, they are mak- ing progress on other projects on the property, where a house is being renovated into a visitor center. Mr. Alessi said that they removed a slab of concrete and are waiting for Brookhaven Town building permits to begin renovations. He said it will have a small exhibit space and classroom on the first floor and office space upstairs. “We will finally be able to welcome people onto the property,” he said, adding that it will just be an appetizer for what the lab will be when completed. The visitor center is due to open in late 2024.

Supporters of the Science Center also have a new way to join the mission to rebuild: Bricks for Nik. According to a Facebook post, an initiative launched mid-December offers personalized paving bricks in three sizes that will eventually be used to construct an 1,800-square-foot patio adjacent to the visitor center.

With 43 days left in the emergency fire restoration campaign on Indiegogo, more than $56,500 has been pledged by 394 backers. Another unclaimed perk — available for $50,000, the highest donation possible — gets you a two-year stint on the group’s advisory council and a lifetime Science Center membership. The majority of backers, 262 of them, have opted to donate $25 for a digital thank-you letter, expected to be mailed in February.

ORIGINAL REPORTING BY ANGELA COLANGELO

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The cause of the fire, which started around 5 p.m., is unknown at this time. The site has been undergoing renovations for years, including a restoration of the chimney and cupola that began in 2020. An Oct. 26 Tesla Science Center social media post shared that historical architects Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture and Preservation, LLP have been on site in recent months as part of the restoration effort. Demolition of non-historic warehouse structures on the property was stated as in-progress. Status of the project was clarified in a statement issued today from Marc Alessi, Executive Director of the science center. “While we were poised to begin a significant renovation and restoration project, construction had not yet commenced,” the statement read.

“The full extent of the damage is yet to be determined,” Mr. Alessi continued in the statement posted on the organization’s website just before noon Wednesday morning. “In the coming days, our site engineer, historical architect and structural engineer, along with the Suffolk County Police Department, the Brookhaven Town Fire Marshal and the County’s Services, will conduct a thorough assessment. Their insights will be crucial in shaping our ongoing plans to restore and rebuild this historic landmark.”

The Telsa Science Center at Wardenclyffe is a not-for-profit organization devoted to preserving the legacy of Nikola Tesla and developing the site of the electricity pioneer’s last standing laboratory into a museum and global science center. The group holds fundraising events on site and seeks to educate the public on Tesla’s work. Their annual gala celebrating Tesla’s legacy and Wardenclyffe’s future was held Nov. 16 in St. James.

According to biographical information offered on the science center’s website, Nikola Tesla is a Serbian-born scientist and inventor whose work in electrical and mechanical engineering led to global advancements in wi-fi, radio, remote controls, motors and more. He is well known for designing the alternating current (A/C) electrical systems in use today. He came to the United States in 1884 at age 28 to work with Thomas Edison. At the time of his death in 1943, he held more than 300 patents. Over the years, many of his laboratories burned to the ground as a result of his experiments with electricity.

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