Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Part 1 | West Orange, New Jersey

Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Thomas Edison became world famous when he was busy working on various inventions in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

He later moved his expanded laboratory over to West Orange, New Jersey, near his beautiful home, Glenmont.

He became the most significant inventor in American history, with over 1000 patents in his name!

As the Park’s website says:

Thomas Edison’s home and laboratory are a step back in time, when machines were run by belts and pulleys and music was played on phonographs. Where to the uninformed passerby, the buildings betray little evidence of the industries they once started. Discover where America’s greatest inventor changed our world forever.

The laboratories and other buildings are still extant in West Orange, New Jersey.

This park is a fascinating place.

Thomas Edison, Inventor

Edison is connected to the inventions and/or improvements of light bulbs, phonographs, motion picture cameras, voting machines, voice dictation equipment, and many more practical items.

The site is run by the National Park Service, along with Glenmont, Edison’s home. I will also be posting about Glenmont in the near future!

There is SO MUCH to see at the park. It is AMAZING.

In this post, I will show mostly the exteriors of the buildings, the laboratories, the machine labs, the pattern shop, and the drafting rooms.

I love the long windows in old buildings. I also love the red brick and the green trimmings.

The Laboratories

The Pattern Shop

Machine Labs

This man worked in the machine shops for years and would demonstrate them to visitors. It was filmed in the 1980s.

The Drafting Room

This was where many ideas in the embryonic stage were generated and worked on.

A sign outside the door reads:

A sketch makes it easy to share an idea with others who have the skills to build the actual device.

Room 12

Edison had many meetings in this room with his assistants, It was one of his favorite places to work on new ideas.

Edison preferred this cluttered by plain experimental room over his more ornate library office.

We will see his library office further down this post.

This film was posted on YouTube in 2011. It gives you a good idea of some of the things to be found at the park.

The Library

This was Thomas Edison’s library/office.

The desk in the photo below and left exactly the way Edison left it when he died in 1931.

As you can see, the library was quite ornate, with thousands of books, framed pictures, statues, and other interesting items.

Edison was famous for not sleeping very much. He would work for many hours each day.

He was so absorbed in his work that he might have suffered from sleep deprivation.

A cot was tucked away in a corner of the library office, where Edison could take his famous “cat naps.”

The next video is rather interesting.

After starting the video, you have to use your mouse on your computer to get the 360-degree effects.

In my next post, I will show you more of the park, including more of Edison’s inventions.

I am also planning a post on Glenmont, Edison’s magnificent house in West Orange.

The site reopens for the season on March 11, 2023.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park is located at 211 Main Street, West Orange, New Jersey.

There is usually a fee for entrance for anyone over 16.

However, there will be Free Entrance Days in 2023.

You can also check out my posts:

Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Part 2

Glenmonth – Thomas Edison’s Home

Thomas Edison in Menlo Park.

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