The Rhode Island State House
McKim, Mead & White designed the State House in 1891–94. Construction ran from 1895 to 1904. Its Georgia-marble dome is a documented architectural feature.
The Tesla Files · Public-records initiative
Release the record.
Test the hypothesis.
Alan Gordon forwarded Rev. Dr. Anne Armstrong’s request asking federal officials to locate, review, and lawfully release records involving Nikola Tesla, John G. Trump, Wardenclyffe, McKim, Mead & White, and any references to the Rhode Island State House.
The request asks a question. It does not claim that a power-generating State House dome has been proven.
Original correspondence · July and August 2026
The architectural connection is documented.
The claim that the State House dome was designed as a power generator remains unproven.What the public record establishes
There is a real historical connection worth examining.
It begins with an architectural firm and an overlapping period—not with proof that two buildings shared an electrical function.
Wardenclyffe
Tesla used Wardenclyffe as his laboratory and office while developing his proposed “World Wireless System.” McKim, Mead & White designed the laboratory and tower to Tesla’s specifications.
Tesla’s papers
After Tesla died, the federal Alien Property Custodian Office temporarily seized his papers. Public federal records about Tesla are now available through the FBI Vault.
The records request
Anne Armstrong asked for a targeted search and lawful release of responsive records. Alan Gordon transmitted the request to President Donald Trump.
Evidence before conclusion
Keep the documented history separate from the theory.
What the record supports
- The State House and Wardenclyffe share an architectural firm.
- The work occurred during an overlapping historical period.
- Wardenclyffe was connected to Tesla’s wireless power research.
- Federal Tesla files exist and can be reviewed publicly.
- A careful search of additional archives could clarify the story.
What it does not establish
- That the State House dome was designed as a generator.
- That its technical design is the same as Wardenclyffe’s.
- That responsive classified records still exist.
- That the building can produce “free energy.”
- That any workable technology was deliberately suppressed.
A correction to the first cover letter
The federal custodial history should be stated precisely.
The July 31 cover letter said the FBI entrusted Tesla’s papers to John G. Trump. The FBI’s own published history gives a narrower account: the Department of Justice’s Alien Property Custodian Office temporarily seized Tesla’s papers, and the FBI says it did not search Tesla’s effects or possess the papers or related microfilm.
Correcting that point does not end the inquiry. It makes the next records request more accurate.
Read the FBI’s account ↗The work ahead
A records search with a public result.
The purpose is to find and publish evidence—not to force the evidence toward a preferred answer.
- 01
Build the archive list
Identify relevant holdings at the FBI Vault, National Archives, federal agencies, MIT collections, and Rhode Island archives.
- 02
Make narrow requests
Use names, dates, projects, agencies, and record series that reduce delay and avoid an unfocused search.
- 03
Preserve the response
Publish the requests, agency correspondence, released records, and meaningful denials in one searchable public file.
- 04
Ask qualified reviewers
If records justify further examination, use independent historians, architects, and electrical engineers. Any inspection of the State House must be authorized and non-invasive.
- 05
Publish negative findings too
If the archives do not support the theory, that result belongs in the public record alongside any evidence that does.
The Attorney General’s role—and its limit
Rhode Island’s Attorney General cannot order federal declassification.
The office can advocate for release, help frame lawful and targeted requests, coordinate access to state-held records, protect public property and public money, and convene an independent review if the evidence warrants one.
No unsafe experiment. No predetermined conclusion. No public expenditure without an evidence-based purpose.
The original correspondence
Read what was actually requested.
The three pages are reproduced here so readers can judge the request for themselves. The factual clarification above is part of this updated public account.
Start with the primary record
Public sources used for this updated account
Have a record or relevant expertise?
Help build an inquiry the public can verify.
Send archival leads, technical analysis, or corrections. Submissions should identify their source and distinguish evidence from inference.