LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Over 90 years ago, Helen Keller and the American Foundation for the Blind laid a time capsule in the original building in New York City, Manhattan.

AFP Helen Keller archivist for The American Printing House for the Blind Justin Gardner, said the time capsule was opened in 2021 and was eventually brought to Louisville to be archived. 

“This is a photograph of Helen Keller at the time capsule ceremony. This is the actual time capsule box that you can see in the picture behind Helen Keller. These are the master records, or I should say the master discs,” said Gardner. He added, “When it finally arrived here to be archived, nobody really knew what was on the records,” said Gardner.

Gardner said they were excited to hear what was on them. He took the records to be digitized and found it was a radio broadcast in which Keller gave a very personal speech. Gardener said they have the original manuscript of what Keller was going to say.

“She speaks about somebody that was very important to her and something that was going on in her life at that point, but she went completely off of script. And that’s another reason why it’s so important, because before we heard the record, we thought we had the script for her speech, but it was not the same at all, completely different,” said Gardner.

The time capsule included pictures, a newspaper, audio messages on the record, the master discs that were protected in wax, record player needles, a record player arm and included instructions—etched into glass on how to clean the discs and how to play a record. Instructions for people who would listen to them in the future.

These are items in the time capsule found at the American Foundation for the Blind in New York. It was opened in 2021 and the items brought to Louisville to be archived. (Spectrum News 1/Nikelle Delgado)

Gardner explained that a significant part of archiving involves handling old boxes and documents, making this recording especially exciting to share.

“It’s not as exciting to share a piece of paper with the world, but you can share an audio clip with the world very easily,” said Gardner.

Items from the time capsule, as well as a Helen Keller exhibit, will be showcased at The Dot Experience. The Dot Experience, a new museum, is still under construction and will be completed Spring of 2026.

The 90-year-old audio recordings of Helen Keller’s speech will be revealed in a livestream on Monday, March 17 at 3 p.m. ET.