Developer plans to preserve iconic Westinghouse atom smasher on site near Pittsburgh

A developer has knocked over the iconic Westinghouse atom smasher near Pittsburgh but says he plans to preserve the structure no matter what happens to the property it was on.

Gary Silversmith of Washington, D.C. says the base of the lightbulb-shaped atom smasher was in too much disrepair to save. He says he will establish a new base and repaint the bulb including the "W'' for Westinghouse and keep it at the Forest Hills site.

Westinghouse built the atom smasher in 1937 as the nation's first industrial nuclear generator. It was ahead of its time, a few years before the discovery of nuclear fission revealed the possibilities of nuclear power. Research done at the site led to the discovery of the photo-fission of uranium.

Silversmith acquired the property in 2013.