posted by prof_improbable #
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Originally designed in 1899 by Tesla, the Wardenclyffe Laboratory and Tower was constructed at this location in 1901. Funded by a group of wealthy industrialists, the stated purpose of the facility was to provide wireless communication through the 187-foot tower.
Tesla's ulterior motive to was to construct a facility that could transmit wireless electrical energy. According to the story, investor J.P. Morgan (who had contributed $150,000 to the construction of Wardenclyffe) withdrew from the project when he couldn't foresee a way to meter and charge people for energy consumption.
Tesla kept Wardenclyffe afloat for years with a series of manufactures (like the Tesla coil and the Tesla turbine), but failings on the business end of the project led the facility to be foreclosed on in 1915. The tower was blown up with dynamite in 1917 so that German submarines couldn't use it as a landmark.
Today, the remnants of the Wardenclyffe still stand, but are privately owned and near sale.
