Building 5, the largest of the laboratory buildings, extends 250 feet along Lakeside Avenue. Henry Hudson Holly, architect of Thomas Edison’s home, planned this single, three-story building, but it proved too small for Edison’s plans, and four one-story structures were built with the main building in 1887. To an Edison associate, the complex was like “Heaven . . . certainly one of the finest in the world and the finest in the States.” Over the years, structures were added to Edison’s laboratory complex. The first brick factories gave way to larger concrete factories like the one behind you. Smaller buildings were built and demolished to meet changing needs. Through all the changes, Edison’s 1887 buildings have remained intact.
