Tesla Volunteers Get to Work on Saturday Mornings

After closing on the property in May, volunteers with the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe will be out on the site Saturday morning as they have been all summer long, and are open to anyone else who wants to come lend a hand.

Jane Alcorn, president of the nonprofit that purchased the famous Shoreham lab, said that anywhere from five to 25 people have been showing up each week from 9 a.m. to noon to get their hands dirty, as they knock a whole lot of rust, overgrown brush and more off the site which had sat vacant and over time became a target for vandals and trespassers.

While some have been coming on a weekly basis, Alcorn said others have traveled from Rhode Island and Pennsylvania to lend a hand. And one person out in New York City on business from California took a few hours to come out one week as well.

Moving forward at the property, Alcorn said in May that the nonprofit hopes to first restore Tesla's laboratory – other additions had been put on over time by succeeding companies which occupied the space – which, due to the extent of the wear and tear, would still take some time to get historically and physically up to par.

Alcorn added that volunteer electricians have started to help re-work electrical lines, while other tasks run the gamut from uncovering the base of Tesla's tower was to painting over graffiti. Heavier equipment will likely be coming soon too, she said, knocking out work that otherwise would take days.

"It's a really nice volunteer effort," Alcorn said on Friday. "Everyone is being pretty brave."