Thomas Edison’s Office 1879 to 1884

Thomas Alva Edison’s office at the Menlo Park laboratory complex was completed in early 1879 along with a brick machine shop. The building held Edison’s massive library, and its basement contained a vault that still exists, where he kept his most important papers and inventions from prying eyes. Here Edison met and entertained important guests including financiers, politicians, entertainers, and the press, hosting figures such as J.P. Morgan and the actress Sarah Burnhart, who later called him the “Napoleon of Invention.” While the laboratory building drew the public to see the wonders of Edison’s work, the office served as a private place where Edison and his workers could study and research without interruption. A special train from New York brought spectators to Menlo Park, where they stood in the street waiting to watch the great wizard move from building to building, reflecting his status as perhaps the nation’s first superstar. The office stood on the corner of Woodbridge, now Tower, and Christie Street. On December 31, 1879, Edison staged there the first public demonstration of his famous incandescent light, and Christie Street became the first street in history to be so lighted.

New Jersey · United States