Parks Canada ~ Parcs Canada
Cape Breton ~ Le Cap-Breton

MARCONI NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE OF CANADA (N.S.)

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• UPCOMING EVENTS 

Here, you'll learn about the life and work of Guglielmo Marconi , the Wizard of Wireless. Marconi proved it was possible to send messages across the Atlantic using electromagnetic waves instead of wires.

Photographs, artifacts and models detail the outstanding events, dreams and successes of Marconi's life up to the time of his death in 1937. The exhibits reveal Marconi as a brilliant young inventor, a tireless physicist and a man more comfortable in the solitude of his yacht's seagoing laboratory than as an international celebrity.

Location and Directions

The Site is located in Glace Bay at Table Head on Timmerman Street. Take Route 4 from Sydney to Glace Bay (23 km or 15 mi.). Driving time is 30 minutes. Or take scenic Route 255, the Marconi Trail, from Louisbourg (51 km or 32 mi.). Driving time is one hour.

The Site is located on five acres of the spectacular and rugged eastern coastline of Cape Breton Island. The Table Head site is an extensive, barren promontory jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. The grounds are bounded by 18-m (60-ft.) cliffs.

Recommended Visiting Time

Plan to spend 30 minutes to see the exhibits at the Visitor Centre and the remains of the Table Head station.

How To Make the Most of Your Visit

The Site consists of the Visitor Centre and the remains of the original Table Head station. All text is in English, French and Italian. Guides are available to help you enjoy you visit. Let them know if you need special assistance. And ask them all your questions!

• See a detailed model of the  original Table Head station. 
• See a "spark gap transmitter" and "magnetic detector" like those used by Marconi in his  original wireless transmissions.
• Find out about Marconi's role in the dawn of ground-to-air transmission.
• Watch volunteer radio operators send and receive messages from all over the world. Station VA1 VAS, an amateur radio station operated by members of the Sydney Amateur Radio Club, frequently operates from the Site. The call letters "VAS" stand for "Voice of the Atlantic Seaboard", the original code letters of Guglielmo Marconi's commercial ship-to-shore wireless service.
• Discover the accomplishments of ten great pioneers of telecommunications in the Wireless Hall of Fame.
• See the remains of the concrete foundations where the station's four 64-m (210-ft.) aerial towers and transmitter buildings stood.
• Drive the Marconi Trail, Route 255 and see wilderness coast with outcroppings of coal. Visit small, picturesque fishing ports, and see two other sites related to Marconi's life and work.

Annual Programs

International Marconi Day Celebrated annually in late April. Major events in wireless radio communication history have occurred in locations around the world. Each year, amateur radio operators celebrate by trying to contact as many of the 15 stations as possible.

Conveniences

Ample free parking is available for cars, buses and recreational vehicles. Public washrooms are available in the Visitor Centre. Washrooms are wheelchair accessible. There are no public telephones on site.

Services for Visitors with Disabilities

The Visitor Centre is wheelchair accessible. The walkway to the tower base is of fine gravel and is wheelchair accessible under most conditions.

Local Services

Historically Glace Bay was the heart of coal mining in Eastern Canada. Today the town is the home of the annual Festival on the Bay, a summer-long theatre festival held at the Savoy Theatre and other nearby locations. Plan to visit some of the other historic sites, and enjoy the town's full range of services.

• Take a tour of the Ocean Deeps Mine and the Miners' Museum. While there, visit the Miners' Village and see a company store and homes that depict life in a mining community.
• Attend the Miners' Museum Little Theatre.
• See live stage performances throughout the summer at the Savoy Theatre.
• Visit the Farm Market midday on Thursdays throughout the summer.

For more information

(louisbourg.info@pc.gc.ca)

Marconi National Historic Site of Canada
c/o Alexander Graham Bell 
National Historic Site of Canada
P.O. Box 159
Baddeck, Nova Scotia
B0E 1B0
Year-round: (902) 295-2069

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