Bells Labs Building, Holmdel, NJ
The New York Times reported today that it was the Internet community, spurred by blog Engadget’s July 5, 2006 post, which caused scientists and former Bell Labs employees to email PREI to rethink the complete demolition of the Eero Saarinen designed Bell Labs Building in Holmdel, NJ, which it had purchased from Lucent Technologies. The result was the announcement by PREI on August 30th (I was present) that PREI would preserve 50% of the building AND build a library to house Bell Labs artifacts. Company CEO Michael O’Neill told the Holmdel audience that the blogging community that spurred the public interest and overwhelming response in support of some preservation in recognition of the historical technological discoveries at the lab.
Where It All Began
It was the Time’s article of June 14, 2006, which reported PREI’s intent to completely raze the “dinosaur”, despite its provenance, that originally sparked my interest and our June 29th blog post: Help Save Bell Labs From The Wrecking Ball. When I passed the post (and additional research) on to Ryan Block, Editor of Engadget, he put his mighty blog behind the cause. Once the fuse was lit, the firestorm could not be stopped. When I spoke to Michael O’Neill, CEO of PREI, who is a forward thinking, creative re-developer, he said he then realized the historical pedigree of the site would lead to it’s greater atttraction and marketability to new tenants. Unbezillowable!
To follow the story from the beginning, here’s the trail:
Help Save Bell Labs From The Wrecking Ball
Sellsius & Engadget Team to Save Bell Labs
Real Estate Developer Sensitive to Holmdel Lab Legacy
Bell Labs: Notable Bloggers Comment on the Story
Bell Labs Update: Letter from Re-Developer PREI
Bell Labs Focus Of Preservation Magazine
Bell Labs Update: Community Meeting August 30
Blog Readers Save Bell Labs: Developer Plans World Class Site
