The Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, also known as the Menlo Park Museum / Edison Memorial Tower, is a memorial to

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and businessman

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

, located in the Menlo Park area of Edison, Middlesex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The tower was dedicated on February 11, 1938, on what would have been the inventor's 91st birthday. The tower marks the location of Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, the world's first organized research and development site. He came to Menlo Park in 1876. The area was then known as Raritan Township, and later changed (in 1954) to Edison Township. Menlo Park is known as the Birthplace of Recorded Sound (November 1877), and the site of the world's first practical incandescent lamp-light bulb (October 1879). Edison and his staff would create 400 of his most important inventions here. It was this site that Edison would fondly nickname his 'Invention Factory'. Edison and his staff were working in New York City, building the world's first central distribution site for electricity, when his wife Mary Stilwell Edison died at their Menlo Park home. He would later relocate to

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

in 1884 to what is now the

Thomas Edison National Historical Park Thomas Edison National Historical Park preserves Thomas Edison's laboratory and residence, ''Glenmont'', in West Orange, New Jersey, United States. These were designed, in 1887, by architect Henry Hudson Holly. The Edison laboratories operat ...

. The original Menlo Park buildings began to deteriorate, and by 1926 most of the buildings had either collapsed or burned, and the only two remaining buildings were later moved to

Greenfield Village The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection conta ...

in Dearborn, Michigan. The Thomas A. Edison Memorial Tower was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on November 30, 1979 as an important architectural and commemorative landmark. With The tower's pinnacle is meant to represent an

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxida ...

and originally included an audio system that according to a 2004

Weird NJ ''Weird NJ'' (sometimes abbreviated ''WNJ'') is a semi-annual magazine that chronicles local legends, purported hauntings, ghost stories, folklore, unusual places or events, and other peculiarities in New Jersey. The magazine originated in 1989 as ...

magazine could be heard from a distance of two miles. The American concrete pioneer

John Joseph Earley John Joseph Earley (1881 in New York City – November 25, 1945) was the son of James Earley, a fourth generation Irish stone carver and ecclesiastical artist. A skilled artisan, architect, and innovator in the use of concrete Earley is best know ...

was involved in its construction. The Tower, which rises 131 feet above the Terrace, is topped by a 13' 8" foot high Bulb made of Pyrex segments by the Corning Corporation. The tower is listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, and is now being restored, a project managed by The State of New Jersey. The museum showcases many of Thomas Edison's creations including the

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

and many of his

light bulbs An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

, as well as memorabilia relating to Edison and his inventions. The museum also showcases many images taken of Edison's property, inventions, and family. The remainder of Edison's estate is now the

Edison State Park The Edison State Park is located in the Menlo Park section of Edison, New Jersey. It is located on Christie Street, the first street in the world to be lit up by lightbulb, just off Lincoln Highway, near the Metropark Train Station. It covers ...

. The Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park is jointly administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Parks and Forestry, the Township of Edison, and the non-profit Edison Memorial Tower Corporation. The Edison Memorial Tower Corporation, a 501(c)3, has been instrumental in having the current museum renovated. The renovated museum reopened on June 9, 2012, with old and newly acquired artifacts. The new professional interpretative exhibits were designed by Daniel Schnur.

Restoration

The tower underwent restoration from 2011-2015. Concrete samples were taken off the facade and sent to a laboratory where they were tested for their specific makeup. This is so the recreated panels could match the old ones that do not need replacing. Edison, NJ Seal

The Centennial Plaque, which was stolen a number of years ago, was also replaced during the restoration. The lower part of the plaque was sent to a Metallurgist in order to match the color. The restoration was completed in October 2015, and a re-dedication ceremony was held on October 24, 2015. The ceremony showed off the newly refurbished tower, media system which played music from the tower's construction until the 50s, grounds, and will conclude with the relighting of the large light bulb at the top of the tower. Also to note there have been a few Eagle Scout projects in the area. One is the large informational sign across Christie Street from the tower. This project contains information about the Electric Railroad Edison built in that spot. The second project is the sign at the bottom edge of the property, closest to Route 27. The newest project was completed on June 8, 2013, and is a sign closer to the museum. The sign contains information about the museum, the website, and hours of operation.

World's second largest light bulb

The sphere atop the tower had been called the "world's largest light bulb", however, in 2021, a larger light bulb, 17’ tall and 10’ in diameter, was installed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on the plaza in front of the Cox Business Convention Center. Another famous

sphere A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

, the

Union Watersphere The Union Watersphere, also known as the Union Water Tower, is a water tower topped with a sphere-shaped water tank in Union, New Jersey, United States and characterized as the ''World's Tallest Water Sphere''. Adjacent to U.S. Route 22, New J ...

, lon-known as the "world's tallest water sphere" is located in nearby

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

.World's Tallest Watersphere
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References

External links

Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum Article on tower preservation efforts
Edison Metuchen Sentinel, September 13, 2006.

Edison Metuchen Sentinel, June 20, 2007.
''Overhead view of Tower''
Overhead view of Tower. {{NRHP in Middlesex County, New Jersey Edison, New Jersey Infrastructure completed in 1938 Museums established in 1938 Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Museums in Middlesex County, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Middlesex County, New Jersey Edison Memorial Tower Buildings and structures in Middlesex County, New Jersey Towers in New Jersey 1938 sculptures Concrete sculptures in New Jersey Edison Science museums in New Jersey History museums in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places 1938 establishments in New Jersey

Restoration

World's second largest light bulb

See also

References

External links