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• - Browse neighboring items by call number.
• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Thomas A. Edison Laboratories, Main Street & Lakeside Avenue, West Orange, Essex County, NJ
• Other Title: Thomas Edison National Historical Park
• Creator(s): Historic American Engineering Record, creator
• Related Names:
     Edison, Thomas A
     Christianson, Justine , transmitter
     Lowe, Jet , photographer
     Buerglener, Robert , historian
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1968
• Medium: Photo(s): 16
  Data Page(s): 5
  Photo Caption Page(s): 2
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HAER NJ,7-ORAW,4-
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • When this survey was carried out, the park was called Edison National Historic Site. The park's name was changed to Thomas Edison National Historical Park in 2009. The survey's address has been updated to include the new park name.
  • For additional documentation, see also the HABS NJ-808 series of surveys
  • Significance: The Thomas A. Edison West Orange Laboratory site represents a significant era in the history of American manufacturing. Edison originally envisioned a facility devoted to pure invention, making this one of the first modern industrial research labs. The site also contained several of the manufacturing plants where Edison utilized new technology in commercial production. Edison worked here along with a staff of about sixty assistant researchers. Among the inventions and improvements to come out of the West Orange labs after its construction in 1887 were the practical phonograph, the movie camera, the improved storage battery, the fluroscope, and synthetic rubber derived from plants. In 1914 fire gutted the surrounding factories, but left the lab complex untouched. The West Orange labs remained in operation until Edison's death in 1931.
  • Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1376
  • Survey number: HAER NJ-70
  • Building/structure dates: 1887 Initial Construction
  • Building/structure dates: 1922 Subsequent Work
  • Building/structure dates: 1954 Subsequent Work
  • National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000052
• Subjects:
  • laboratories
  • brick buildings
  • research
  • fires
  • physics
  • chemistry
  • experiments
  • national parks & reserves
  • science
  • gable roofs
  • sheds
  • shed roofs
  • arch doors
  • round-topped windows
  • chimneys
  • smokestacks
  • flat roofs
  • pilasters
  • Renaissance Revival architectural elements
  • water towers
  • gatehouses
  • workshops
  • belt-driven machinery
  • libraries (rooms)
  • offices
  • steam engines
  • boilers
  • generators
  • corrugated metal siding
  • blacksmith shops
  • turntables
  • piers (supporting elements)
• Place:
  • New Jersey--Essex County--West Orange
• Latitude/Longitude: 40.782493, -74.235895
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/nj1219/

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HAER NJ,7-ORAW,4-
• Medium: Photo(s): 16
  Data Page(s): 5
  Photo Caption Page(s): 2

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

• Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
• If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
• Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
• If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
• Data Pages
• Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

• Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
• P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
• Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
• You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
• Make note of the Call Number listed above.
• Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
• The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
• All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

• Call Number: HAER NJ,7-ORAW,4-
• Medium: Photo(s): 16
  Data Page(s): 5
  Photo Caption Page(s): 2

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

   • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.

   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.