On September 4, 1882 Thomas Alva Edison pulled a switch at the world's first commercial DC electrical distribution plant and the area around Pearl Street in lower Manhattan lit up!
The Edison team had worked out this system through the year and finally on the 4th of September it was ready! It was no accident that the power station was on Pearl Street. It was right by Wall Street and near Edison's money man. J. P. Morgan.
Morgan was much of the money behind Edison's work. In fact Edison once wrote in one of his books about Morgan and his money saying,"His word was his collateral". Truer words were never said.
The streets and offices around Pearl and Wall Streets were lit by Edison's Bamboo filament light bulbs.
All the wiring was under ground. (IT STILL IS IN NYC). From the power produced by the Jumbo generators (named for the famous elephant), Edison and his team were able to light several blocks of lower Manhattan.
It was the beginning of a new age! It all started less than 130 years ago. Not that long ago when you think about it. Think of that each time you turn on your lights and the rest of your life.
This was a city that saw once a revolution that freed them from England. This next revolution, the electrical one, freed mankind from the bondage of darkness.