The city is working to finish its electric development today.
An opulent brownstone mansion on Madison Avenue became the first private residence in New York to be lit exclusively by electricity on June 7, 1882, when the lights were turned on.
The home, owned by financier and investment banker J P Morgan, had wire put throughout the walls by inventor and electrical pioneer Thomas Edison and his associates. A total of 385 incandescent lightbulbs had been added to each room.
Historian Jill Jones describes how a steam engine, boiler, and electrical generators clanked and roared away in the cellar beneath a nearby stable in her 2004 book Empires.
Subterranean cables were used to connect these to the house, and al experienced engineer worked there from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. Morgan’s son-in-law Herbert Satterlee later stated that the family would sometimes find themselves abruptly plunged into darkness at this moment when they forgot to check the time.
Mrs. James Brown, the neighbor of the Morgans, claimed that the devices were vibrating her entire home. However, Morgan was apparently happy.
