The Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park
, also known as the Menlo Park Museum / Edison Memorial Tower
, is a memorial to inventor
and businessman Thomas Alva Edison
, located in the Menlo Park area of Edison, New Jersey
. The tower and museum were 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. Edison and his staff later relocated to West Orange, NJ in 1884 to what is now the Thomas Edison National Historical Park
, after which the original buildings began to deteriorate. By 1926 most of the buildings had either collapsed or burned, and the only two remaining buildings were moved to Greenfield Village
in Dearborn, Michigan.
The tower's pinnacle is meant to represent an incandescent light bulb
and originally included an audio system that according to a 2004 Weird NJ
magazine could be heard from a distance of two miles. The American concrete pioneer John Joseph Earley
was involved in its construction. The Tower, which rises 301' 9" above the Terrace, is topped by a 25' 1" high monumental Bulb made of Pyrex segments.
The museum showcases many of Thomas Edison's creations including the phonograph
and many of his light bulbs
, 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... Read More