The smell of smoke permeated the air outside of the fire-scorched Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe.
Officials found it was almost ironic that the last-known laboratory of inventor Nikola Tesla had gone up in flames much like his previous space in New York City in 1985 — when a blaze swept through the building and damaged $50,000 of his property.
“It is a scary feeling to have been watching that fire on that night, wondering what’s going to be left the next day,” said Michael Russo, president of the Shoreham-based Tesla Science Center. “In the time of the season of thankfulness, it is overwhelming that we are still standing in front of the building that we fought so hard to save from getting wrecked all those years ago.”
The organization has sought to develop a regional science and technology center, museum and makerspace at the site of Tesla's former laboratory.
The fire that broke out on Tuesday, Nov. 21 didn’t ruin the fire-proof brick foundation, but many of the building’s original fixtures were lost to the flames. The northern side of the building, including the chimney and the cupola, which had been replaced in 2019 as part of the renovation efforts for plans for a Tesla museum, had sustained serious damage.
Executive Director Marc Alessi estimated that the total cost of restoration and finishing the original plan to make the property into a museum will be around $9 million.
“As we launched a crowdfund last night on Indiegogo for the second time, those numbers slapped me in the face: three, six, nine,” Alessi said. “For you Tesla geeks out there, Tesla was all about those numbers in a lot of his research: 3-6-9. So the irony is pretty overwhelming for me.”
The staff members of the center were prepping for the tree-lighting celebration that is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2, when a good samaritan called in the initial sighting of a fire on the premises at around 4:30 p.m. Over 200 firefighters from around 11 departments arrived in droves to put out the fire. It wasn’t until midnight that the fire was put out. However, the fire was reignited twice that early Wednesday morning by unseen embers at 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
“We were worried we were going to lose the lab that night,” Alessi said. “We didn’t want anybody to get hurt but we felt everyone here on site, the emergency personnel that are from our community or volunteers, they hold this site just as close to their hearts as we do.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but authorities have ruled out arson.
In 2020, Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation was hired to evaluate both the history and existing condition of the laboratory and surrounding buildings. Their evaluation found that the building was essentially fire-proofed with its brick foundation.
However, historical architect Mark Thaler now said the roof and surrounding buildings were flammable.
“The other buildings in the back of it certainly were flammable,” Thaler said. “Those buildings had wood-framed roofs. Certainly, the roof on this building was also flammable because it had wood decking and asphalt roofing.”
Michael Holtz, a representative from Cameron Engineering who was hired to do the initial assessment after the fire, said their goal was to assess the structural integrity of the building and make sure it was stable. Holtz said the next steps of remediation “includes strategic wall supports – both the interior and exterior.”
“We're going to be taking a look at selective demolition of the roofing structure and then from that, covering the top so we can prevent any freezing and falling effects on the structural support of the building,” Holtz said.
Engineers said the laboratory’s structure remains intact.
Before the fire, the Tesla Science Center had secured the necessary permits to proceed with the museum project, and Suffolk County Executive-elect Ed Romaine announced at a gala last week another round of capital funding totaling $1.15 million, which put the total capital raised to $14 million — $6 million away from achieving their estimated $20 million needed for the project.
“This is a really important historic site, not just to the county but to the state, country and worldwide, it’s that unique,” State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-Riverhead) said. “We will do anything we can, without question on the state level, to continue to get the funding we need to get this project to the end.”
Alessi said they have 60 days to crowd-source funds, and the money will cover the roof and steel girders that were compromised in preparation for the winter. Their Indiegogo page has so far raised more than $40,000 of it’s $3 million goal since the fire.
“The public’s support and understanding in these challenging times are invaluable,” Alessi said. “If you’ve been inspired by Tesla’s life and career, you can take action by participating in our Indiegogo ‘Mission Rebuild’ fundraising initiative.”
