New Jersey is home to some of the most famous people in the world, including Bruce Springsteen, Buzz Aldrin, Frank Sinatra, Grover Cleveland and, of course, the inventor of the light bulb himself, Thomas Edison.
Although he was born and raised in Ohio, Edison set up shop in Menlo Park in the mid-1870s, and it was there that he made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on December 31, 1879, ultimately earning him the nickname “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” He then later purchased a large piece of property called Glenmont, located in Llewellyn Park in West Orange, where he resided until he died in 1931 at the age of 84. The property contained the home he shared with his second wife, Mina, as well as the laboratory where he invented the motion picture camera and made major improvements to phonographs, sound recordings, silent and sound movies and the nickel-iron alkaline storage battery.
Glenmont first became a national historic park in the mid-1950s; and three name changes later, it became known as Thomas Edison National Historical Park in 2009 under the ownership of the National Park Service. In October of that same year, the property underwent extensive renovations. Both Edison’s home and his laboratory still stand within the grounds, and they are open year-round to visitors.
When it was first built, the house contained 23 ½ rooms, including 2 ½ bathrooms, and featured a central heating system, 23 fireplaces, seven chimneys, 91 windows, hot and cold running indoor water, indoor flush toilets and a refrigerator in the kitchen. After moving in, the Edison’s added six more bathrooms and had the home wired for electricity.
On the exterior, the structure is comprised of more than 157,000 bricks and 10,000 pounds of iron and steel framing, and it features approximately 40 green awnings that pop against the rust-colored façade. One of the home’s most outstanding features is its 23-square-foot porch at the top of the house, which provides a stunning view of New York City.
The laboratory, meanwhile, contains a massive, three-story library where Edison entertained many scholarly visitors, and his employees researched countless projects. The first floor of the lab is home to Edison’s machine shop and stock room, while the second and third floors house everything from a machine shop to a music recording studio to a chemistry lab.
Edison always believed that “what you are will show in what you do.” And judging by the contents of his lab, it’s clear just how intelligent of a man he was and how much he meant to science – and New Jersey.
I am proud to be a New Jersian and hope that I can find a way to be innovative in my unique skill set. We have big shoes to fill in New Jersey, but us Jersey folk are hard workers and have never shied away from a challenge!
We should all take our kids to the Edison Museum. They think that everything is instantaneous and at their fingertips. Without Edison’s inventions we would not have Hollywood Movies, MP3 players or YouTube! The invention of global technologies, basic or modern, are of the last 100 years — now all improving by the second. We should never forget the pioneers that made our creature comforts and progress possible.
Best wishes,
Karen-