Holmdel, New Jersey: World's Largest Transistor

Old Bell Labs water tower shaped like the world's first production transistor, a revolutionary technology invented in 1947. In front of Eero Saarinen-designed glass sarcophagus.

Eventually making possible the computer on which you're reading this, the transistor was invented 75 years ago, on December 16, 1947. Comically bulky and slow by today's standards, it replaced the hot, fragile vacuum tubes in electronics and the earliest computers, and made the "transistor radio" the go-to technology for every 1960s teenager. Its invention was credited to three researchers at the Murray Hill Bell Laboratories, and the company gave an architectural nod later by creating a giant, sleek, stylized version at its Holmdel Bell Labs facility water tower (now part of the BellWorks developed multi-use campus). Most people think it's just mid-century art, but it's a transistor.

Picturesque lawns and interesting, other-worldly feel to the tower. There's a nearby little roadside sign about the discovery of radio astronomy at the site.

I worked at Bell Labs in Holmdel in 1965-66 before being moved to the new Indian Hill facility in Naperville, IL. Another interesting tidbit about the Holmdel grounds is the long drive from the circumference road to where it curved to meet Crawford Corner road. There was a 100 Club at Holmdel -- very unofficial. To join it, you had to start at the circumference road and reach 100 mph, then slow down enough that you didn't roll over as the road curved to meet Crawford Corner Road. I wasn't a member in my straight 6 1960 Ford, but there were Vettes and Goats (GTOs) that were.