Imagine flickering gas lamps illuminating New York City’s streets before Thomas Edison. He arrived in New York City in mid-1869. A friend, Franklin L. Pope, offered him a room at Samuel Laws’ Gold Indicator Company. Edison quickly proved his worth. He fixed a broken machine and was hired to improve the printer machines.
Edison dove into telegraphy projects. He formed Pope, Edison and Co. with Pope and James Ashley in October 1869. They were electrical engineers and constructors. Edison patented telegraph improvements. The partnership merged with the Gold and Stock Telegraph Co. in 1870.
Later, Edison started the Newark Telegraph Works in Newark, NJ. He manufactured stock printers with William Unger. He then established the American Telegraph Works. Edison worked on an automatic telegraph. By 1874, he developed a quadruplex telegraph for Western Union. It could send two messages simultaneously in both directions. Edison sold his patent rights to Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. Western Union won the ensuing court battles. In 1875, he also invented an electric pen.
In February 1881, Edison established the headquarters of the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City. He aimed to electrify Lower Manhattan. But Edison and his team faced challenges creating the world’s first electrical power grid. On September 4, 1882, a new era dawned. The first electrical lighting in New York City was switched on.
The Pearl Street Station was the world’s first central power station. Thomas Alva Edison and the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York operated it. This company later became Consolidated Edison. The New York Times building was among the first to be lit. A reporter described the light bulb. It was a glass globe about four inches long. It resembled a dropping tear. Inside was the carbon horseshoe that gave the light.
The Pearl Street Station provided DC power to nearby clients. In two years, it served over 500 customers. For Thomas Edison the station was an important early achievement. It set a precedent for urban power station models. A fire destroyed the station. However, one dynamo was saved. It is now in Dearborn, MI.
Edison’s DC legacy persisted in New York City for many years. Some residences had both DC and AC outlets. They looked the same. People often burned out appliances by using the wrong outlets. DC current was supplied for 125 years after the Pearl Street Station. The last section of New York with DC was shut down on November 14th, 2007. It was converted to AC power.
Even the subway benefited from Edison’s work. Thomas Edison held a patent for a third rail system to supply power to rail cars from 1882. Subway cars still run on direct current at 600 volts. AC power from the grid is converted to DC. This is done using synchronous converters.
Edison’s impact on New York City is undeniable. From the first electric lights to powering the subway, his inventions shaped the city we know today.