It all started with my email to Ryan Block of Engadget on the Fourth of July, 2006 (yeah, July 4th). He answered it and the next day the shitake hit the fan when Engadget ran the story.
The developer received thousands of objections and pleas, worldwide, to save the Bell Labs landmark in Holmdel, NJ. At a meeting I attended in Holmdel, the developer CEO cited the post (and the reaction) as the reason for keeping the main building and creating a library to house Bell Lab artifacts. I felt a great sense of the power of blogging to effectuate change. I was hooked.
Bell Labs Holmdel facility is not extinct yet. The lab, which for 44 years was used by scientists to discover & create some of the world’s greatest technological advances, might be saved from demolision through the work of bloggers.
My sincerest thanks to Ryan Block of Engadget for taking this important story to its readers. Read his post today. Together, Sellsius° & Engadget hope to spread the word to save this technological piece of history for future generations to enjoy. With the help of our readers, the site can be preserved as a National Historic Site or even a museum.
The Holmdel Lab was the birthplace of seminal technological discoveries. We have no problem preserving the homes of famous individuals with nice plaques, why should we not preserve the home of one giants of technology, Bell Labs. See our original post “Save Bell Labs From The Wrecking Ball”.
In my research on this story I contacted the former head of all research done at the Holmdel lab told me that almost all of the optical transmission, wireless, and microwave work was done at Holmdel. He went on to say that “the first transmissions to a satellite were sent from Holmdel in a message by President Eisenhower.” Further that “radio astronomy was discovered at the Holmdel site in 1937 by Jansky.”
Let’s give it a look to see if it’s worth saving as much as a celebrity’s childhood house. We respect the new property owner’s right to use the land but perhaps a piece of it can be preserved for its historic value. A parking lot with a plaque may not be enough of a remembrance.
Email New Jersey Historic Preservation Office at : NJHPO@DEP.STATE.NJ.US
Contact National Register of Historical Places for Listing this property.
Older history - I can remember looking out of my Father’s office window, when I was young person, and seeing a plaque on a building where the first anethethesia surgical was performed. The original building was not there, but replaced by a financial institution. In later years, the plaque and building were demolished in the name of progress. Today, I don’t think any knowledge of this event is noted in public. However, if someone visits Boston and they stand in front of 18 Tremont Street and look across the street they will know where this momentous occasion took place.
We truly should preserve history for coming generations to remember where man has been.