Thomas Edison

https://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison_National_Historical_Park Thomas Edison National Historical Park preserves Thomas Edison's laboratory and residence, Glenmont, in West Orange, New Jersey. These were designed, in 1887, by architect Henry Hudson Holly. The Edison laboratories operated for more than 40 years. Out of the West Orange laboratories came the motion picture camera, improved phonographs, sound recordings, silent and sound movies and the nickel-iron alkaline electric storage battery. Today, the brick buildings on Main Street in West Orange, NJ seem quiet, betraying little evidence of the research, development, and innovation of their heyday. Visitors can step back in time to Thomas Edison’s home and laboratory, when machines were run by belts and pulleys and music was played on phonographs. Discover where America’s greatest inventor changed our world forever. From the Garden State Parkway take exit 145 or from the New Jersey Turnpike take Exit 15W to Route 280 West. Take Route 280 West to Exit 10. Turn right onto Northfield Avenue. At second light turn left onto Main Street. Go about 0.75 mile to parking on left and Laboratory Complex on the right. From Route 280 East take exit 9. Turn left onto Mt. Pleasant Avenue. At second traffic light turn left onto Main Street. Go about 0.50 mile to parking on left and Laboratory Complex on the right. Laboratory Complex Visitor Center Thomas Edison Laboratory Complex & Glenmont Grounds will be open to the public Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. All visitors must begin at the Laboratory Complex. The park is closed to the public from January through mid-March. From the Garden State Parkway take exit 145 or from the New Jersey Turnpike take Exit 15W to Route 280 West. Take Route 280 West to Exit 10. Turn right onto Northfield Avenue. Left onto Main Street. Go about 0.75 mile to parking on left and Laboratory Complex on the right. From Route 280 East take exit 9. Turn left onto Mt. Pleasant Avenue. At second traffic light turn left onto Main Street. Go about 0.50 mile to parking on left and Laboratory Complex on the right Glenmont - Home of Thomas Edison Large salmon colored Victorian mansion with green lawn and blue sky Thomas Edison purchased Glenmont as a wedding present for his wife Mina in 1886, for the cost of $125,000 USD. Heavy Machine Shop at the Edison Laboratory Complex Large work space room with machines connected to belts and pullies One of main machine shops, where Thomas Edison and his staff worked on research and development, prototypes, and products. Glenmont Garage Cream colored, two story cement building surrounded by large trees Thomas Edison's poured concrete garage houses both electric and gas powered vehicles belonging to the Edison family. Park Entrance Small red building next to large brick building with a water tower in the background. Just as Thomas Edison did every morning, visitors can walk in his footsteps by entering the laboratory complex's iron main gate. Replica Black Maria Large black building covered in tar paper surrounded by a barrier fence The Black Maria was the first building built for the recording of motion pictures. This exact replica of the original was built as a movie set for the film "Edison the Man", starring Spencer Tracy, in 1954. Partnerships add a Charge to your Travel Plans The National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, BMW of North America, the U.S. Department of Energy, concessioners, and gateway communities have collaborated to provide new technologies for travel options to and around national parks. As part of this public-private partnership, BMW of North America, working through the National Park Foundation, donated and arranged for the installation of 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging ports in and around national parks. On Location: An Introduction to Film in National Parks National parks have provided the backdrop for many iconic American films, including the original "Star Wars" trilogy at Death Valley National Park, "Thelma and Louise" at Canyonlands National Park, and many more. Filmmakers have been recording at National Park Service sites since the early years of motion picture history. While the location might not be the first thing in the credits, these films and television shows shine a spotlight on park landscapes. A uniformed ranger shakes hands with C3PO, a Star Wars character, in a bare and hilly landscape. Learning Landscape Preservation at Thomas Edison National Historical Park For students at Stephen T. Mather Building Arts and Craftsmanship High School in New York City, parks are an extension of the classroom. Along with core academic classes, they learn concepts and skills of preserving historic landscapes and structures, then apply that classroom learning in the field. This year, the tenth grade class sharpened their landscape preservation skills at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Mather High School students stand in front of a row of tools on the lawn of Glenmont Estate. Melting the Amber: Northeast Region Launches Innovative Historic House Pilot A historic house can be like an ant trapped in amber. What was once alive and growing is sealed in a single sepia-tinted moment. What if we could melt the amber? Park employees stand on the porch of Thomas Edison's home, Glenmont Thomas Edison and Military Preparedness "As new technologies changed military conflict during World War I, Thomas Edison called for industrial preparedness, experimented on some of the Navy's most difficult technical problems and helped the U.S. government prepare for future wars by advocating the creation of the Naval Research Laboratory." World War I Political Cartoon Fat Book Week You've heard of #FatBearWeek...now get ready for #FatBookWeek! In honor of the 10,000+ books in the Longfellow family collection, we called on other literary-minded sites to submit the fattest book in their museum collections for a tournament-style bracket of 10 heavyweight tomes. Check out the bracket, then visit @LONGNPS on Instagram each morning from October 6-12 to vote for your favorite bulky book! Graphic of a bear with a paw on a stack of books. Text reads "Fat Book Week October 6-12, 2021"

Thomas Edison Thomas Edison National Historical Park New Jersey personified the age of invention, America’s new frontier in the late 1800s. Though he was best known for the phonograph and incandescent lamp, perhaps Edison’s greatest invention was a new way to invent: the industrial research and development laboratory. Today his largest lab complex is preserved at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. With his teams of scientists and technicians, he perfected his phonograph and developed motion pictures, a nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery, and many other devices and technologies. Edison earned 1,093 U.S. patents in his lifetime, most for inventions that came from here. main building were separate labs for chemistry, physics, and metallurgy. Though Edison was the guiding force behind every project, a spirit of camaraderie prevailed among the 100 or so employees. Small teams worked independently on aspects of projects while Edison made the rounds daily to fine-tune, offering inspired ”guesses” that usually turned out to be right. He spent most of his time at the labs, often working overnight and indulging in quick naps in his library. thing from ballet to boxing. The phonograph and film businesses capitalized on consumer demand for new forms of entertainment. Well into old age Edison was trying new things: a technique for poured concrete buildings, a fluoroscope to view x-ray images, methods for manufacturing large quantities of chemicals, huge machines for extracting iron from ore and for manufacturing cement. His final search was for a domestic source of rubber. Thomas Edison died in 1931. The West Orange labs soon closed, but reopened as a museum in 1948. Edison National Historic Site was established in 1962; in 2009 it became Thomas Edison National Historical Park. The park is a memorial to the man and a place where you can discover the roots of American inspiration and innovation. Edison the inventor was also a shrewd entrepreneur who established dozens of companies during his career. ”I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing,” he said. The business side of his operation centered on the phonograph. His factories in West Orange produced a variety of cylinder and disc phonographs and recordings, plus a business phonograph for office dictation. He introduced motion pictures, and manufactured cameras, projectors, and films. In the Black Maria, the world’s first movie studio, his staff filmed every- Ten times the size of the Menlo Park lab where Edison achieved early fame, the West Orange complex looked like a small college campus. A three-story building held a research library, machine shops for building models, space for experiments and various research projects, and Edison’s office. Across from the 1847 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Edison Labs NPS / MELINDA SLOATE SCHMITT 1931 An Inventive Career 1847 ”talking machine”—the phonograph. First recording is Edison’s recital of ”Mary had a little lamb.” Hailed as the ”Wizard of Menlo Park.” Thomas Alva Edison is born in Milan, Ohio, February 11. Educated mostly at home by his mother. 1879 1854–63 Family moves to Port Huron, Mich. Thomas works as a newsboy on Grand Trunk Railroad. Suffers permanent hearing loss. Electric pen ad, 1870s. 1870 Invents commercially successful stock ticker. Income finances workshop in Newark, N.J., where Edison begins work on automatic telegraphy. Using carbon filaments in a glass-enclosed vacuum, produces practical incandescent light powered by electric generator. Demonstrates lighting system New Year’s Eve at Menlo Park. Thomas Edison, age 14. 1864–69 Itinerant telegrapher in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Louisville. Works for Western Union in Boston. Invents improved telegraph equipment. 1869 Awarded his first patent for legislative vote recorder. Decides to become full-time inventor. 1874 Invents quadruplex telegraph device that sends four messages simultaneously along a single line. Pursues increased message capacity. 1875 Invents and markets electric pen, an early document duplication system. Opens new lab complex in West Orange. Experiments with ore separation, shifting focus from gold to iron ore. Spurred by rivals’ invention of graphophone, resumes work on perfecting his phonograph. Builds Edison Phonograph Works Edison’s 1879 lamp sketch (left) near lab complex. Begins and reproduction lamp. work on kinetograph, a mocollection of the henry ford 1881 Moves home and office to New York City. Begins construction of first permanent central power station on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, which opens in September 1882. 1871 Marries Mary Stilwell, one of his employees, on Christmas Day. 1887–88 First phonograph, 1877. nps / darryl Herring 1880 Experiments with magnetic gold ore separation. Observes transfer of electrons between electrodes within a glass globe—the ”Edison Effect”—which eventually leads to development of vacuum tubes us