In a contemporary tale of two cities, it all began with 19th century English inventor Alexander Stanhope St. George's obsession with the marvelous. Surrounded by the wonders of his age, such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern, he set out to realize one himself: the Telectroscope, a subterranean telescope-of-sorts that would allow folks in London and New York City to interact with one another from across the world.

The Telectroscope isn't used for transportation between the two cities, however. Instead, it's an optical device, allowing people in either city to have an artificial presence in the other.

A tragic breach in the ocean tunnel's wall halted work on the project in 1892, and for a century the Telectroscope was left for a failed relic. Now, artist Paul St. George has revived the project and this year drills broke ground in both New York and London. The enclosures are finally in place, and the Telectroscope is realized at last.

Click Continue to find out more, and check out the gallery below for more views of the Telectroscope.

Sounds a little too fantastic? It is — it's an intricate fabrication by artist Paul St. George to bridge an age where anything was possible with the modern era of rapid technological progression.

Breaking it down: More than just a simple website, Paul St. George recreated the famous photo of Isambard Kingdom Brunel standing before the enormous launch chains of the Great Eastern steamship, adding a young Alexander Stanhope St. George in a torn fragment. There was also a fake Wikipedia page, now removed, speaking of Alexander Stanhope St. George as a real person (see the cached Wikipedia page here). The idea of a telectroscope has captured the minds of many, even satirist Mark Twain, who fictionalized one of his own in 1877.

You can see the Telectroscope for yourself near the Tower Bridge in London, or at Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

The Telectroscope, via The New York Times