The history of radio is thriving in this fascinating, hidden Bay Area museum

Walk into a nondescript building in Alameda – which happens to have once been the first telephone exchange on the island, circa 1900 – and you’ll find yourself plunged into an electronic wonderland of Inspector Gadget-type widgets and gizmos.

Vacuum tubes the size of baby dolphins rest on shelves near radios of all shapes and eras, clad in snakeskin, aglow with neon and disguised as Scotch whisky bottles. Transmitters from World War II bombers are stacked next to CIA communications gear...