Time Capsule

A Moment Captured in Time

M. C. Migel, Helen Keller, and Dr. John Finley stand in a room that looks as if it's still under construction. Migel and Keller hold a trowel, and Keller also holds a brick.

On December 5, 1934, the American Foundation for the Blind held a special ceremony at the site of what would become AFB’s new headquarters at 15 East 16th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The event marked the laying of the cornerstone for AFB’s new headquarters. In attendance were philanthropist and AFB founder M.C. Migel, New York Times associate editor and AFB chairman Dr. John H. Finley, and the famous deafblind advocate Helen Keller, who had joined AFB a decade earlier in 1924.

As part of the ceremony, a time capsule was placed into the building’s cornerstone. In 1997, when AFB moved its headquarters 18 blocks north to 11 Penn Plaza, staff identified the time capsule’s location thanks to photographs taken during the 1934 ceremony. The capsule, a large, welded-shut copper box, was placed in a secure new location. The time capsule was opened as part of AFB’s centennial celebration in 2021. Inside, two silver disc records were discovered, protected by clay jackets, along with backup acrylic copies of the discs and instructions for playback etched into a mirror.

The first record contained a recording of an NBC broadcast of the ceremony. NBC aired the event so that Helen Keller’s lifelong friend and teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy, could listen to the special occasion from her hospital room, where she was recovering after losing her vision. Helen’s speech during the ceremony was a particularly moving message to her best friend.

On the second side of the record was a special report on AFB’s accomplishments during its first decade, prepared for the time capsule by AFB President M.C. Migel. The second silver disc featured a unique series of soundscapes created by employees in AFB’s talking book studio, intended for future listeners who might uncover the recordings.

Once the unearthed recordings were removed from the capsule, they were sent to the AFB and Helen Keller Archive, housed at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky. There, archivists painstakingly digitized the recordings—a process that took a considerable amount of time. But once completed, AFB and APH recognized that these historic recordings should be shared with the world.

A Moment Captured in Time Record Artwork

On March 17, 2025, a special event was held at the original ceremony site, now home to the Center for Jewish History in New York City. A special vinyl record was produced from the first silver disc’s audio, which is now available to listen to online via the links below.

AFB gratefully acknowledges the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), which partnered with AFB to make the 2025 event possible. APH is currently developing The Dot Experience, a museum highlighting significant milestones in blindness history. You can learn more about The Dot Experience here.

AFB also thanks the Center for Jewish History, which not only welcomed us for this special event unveiling the time capsule recordings but also continues Helen Keller’s dream of creating a more just and inclusive world.

Below, watch the event live stream or listen to audio from the cornerstone ceremony, featuring a rare speech from Helen Keller and a recording of AFB’s 10-year report, documenting key milestones in the field of blindness from 1923–1933.

Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today—not just to help us preserve Helen Keller’s legacy, but to create a world of endless possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision.