9/11 Memorial & Museum

One World Trade Center or Freedom Tower (far left) is the tallest U.S. building

This post details the final destination of my December 2025 spotlight NYC tour. While the tour visit to Ellis Island and the immigrant experience was sobering, this visit to the World Trade Center (WTC) site was the most overwhelming, so many lives lost.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 will always be remembered no matter how much time has passed. I was living in my native NJ and remember exactly where and what I was doing that morning, countless others can do the same. The words Never Forget are seared in our collective memory.

Previously, I had been in the World Trade Center when the North and South towers were under construction and later attended a concert in the plaza. The December 2025 visit was my first trip back to the site. 

So much has changed in the years since the attacks and subsequent rebuilding. This post shows some of the buildings and structures there now.

Completed in 2014, One World Trade Center, known as One WTC or the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt complex. It was designed by American architect David Childs, who recent died (March 2025). It's a prominent landmark in lower Manhattan with its distinctive spire. The skyscraper is the tallest U.S. building, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the 7th-tallest worldwide, and is the only U.S. building on the top 10 tallest list (Dubai has the tallest, then Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and China with the most at five.) . 

One World Trade Center or Freedom Tower

The skyscraper bears the same name as the original WTC North Tower destroyed in 2001. It's on the northwest corner of the 16-acre WTC site, on the site of the former 6 World Trade Center. Construction started in 2006 and was completed in May 2013 when the skyscraper's spire was installed making the building and its spire reach a total height of 1,776 feet. Yes, a deliberate reference to the year the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed. 

The Koenig Sphere, damaged but still standing in Liberty Park

It was quite amazing to see this sculpture. The Koenig Sphere is a monumental 25-foot, 25-ton metallic sculpture made of cast bronze. Although badly damaged, it was the only remaining work of art to be recovered largely intact from the ruins of the Twin Tower. 

Created by German artist Fritz Koenig as Sphere for a Plaza Fountain, the sculpture was formerly positioned at the center of Austin J. Tobin Plaza between the Twin Towers from 1972 until 2011. After being dismantled and stored near JFK International Airport, the sculpture was installed in Battery Park between 2002 and 2017, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey moved it to Liberty Park, overlooking the 9/11 Memorial and its original location. 

North Tower Memorial Pool 

The footprints of the North and South Towers of the WTC are marked by twin reflecting memorial pools. These two large, nearly acre-sized pools sit in the original square footprints of the towers each nearly an acre in size. Each pool features the largest man-made waterfall in North America. Each pool has a 30-foot waterfall that cascades into a deep, central void, where the towers once stood to symbolize loss and remembrance. The names of 9/11 victims are engraved around the edges of the pools on bronze panels. A flower is placed by the name on his/her birthday.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum or the 9/11 Memorial & Museum honors the 6 people killed in the February 26, 1993 explosion at the WTC and the 2,997 who died September 11, 2001, and those who risked their lives to save others.

It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to raise funds to program and operate the memorial and museum at the WTC site. The museum contains exhibitions and educational programs that highlight events before, during and after 9/11 through artifacts, photos, and testimonies. 

The Memorial Exhibition (In Memoriam) honors victims with a Wall of Faces and also with exhibits of personal items. There is a very emotional impact standing inside the room of this exhibit even though I did not know any of these people, such sadness for lives lost both ion the attacks and rescue attempts.

Here are photos and descriptions of some of the other exhibits. As with any tour, there was limited time, so I tried to take in as many exhibits as possible.

WTC North and South Towers before 2001 attacks

Construction of the WTC started in August 1966. At 110 stories each, 1 World Trade Center, North Tower and 2 World Trade Center, South Tower, provided nearly 10 million square feet of office space. The towers were the tallest buildings in NYC, and briefly were the tallest buildings worldwide at over a quarter of a mile high. The North Tower stood at 1,368 fee and the South Tower at 1,362 feet. In 1974, they were surpassed by the Sears (Willis) Tower.

Dedication pedestal was found damaged, but largely intact

The first tenants moved into 1 World Trade Center in December 1970 and into 2 World Trade Center 13 months later before construction of either was completed. The world’s then tallest buildings were dedicated in 1973. A stainless steel pedestal was installed on the 5-acre plaza to commemorate the event: In commemoration of the skill and industry of the thousands of construction workers and Port Authority personnel whose efforts created the World Trade Center | World Trade Center dedication day April 4, 1973

Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning

The quote, No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time, is from The Aeneid by Roman poet Virgil. New Mexico artist Tom Joyce forged each letter from pieces of recovered WTC steel. The mosaic is by New England artist Spencer Finch. Each of the 2,983 squares represents a victim of the 1993 or 2001 WTC attacks. Every one of the watercolor squares is a shade of blue. The artwork revolves around memory showing that our perception of the color blue might differ from that of another person. 

Remnants of box columns

Steel columns, called box columns, formed the rectangular shape and hollow center provided structural support for the Twin Towers to create their distinctive facades. At the end of the recovery period, what remained of these columns was cut to a level elevation leaving the remnants visible. The North Tower footprint was outlined by 84 columns; the South Tower had 73 columns.

Survivors' staircase

This 37-step portion of staircase made of granite and concrete was the last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the WTC site. It was originally an outdoor flight of stairs and two escalators, which connected Vesey St to the Austin J. Tobin Plaza at the WTC. The stairs were an escape route for hundreds of evacuees from 5 World Trade Center, a 9-floor building adjacent to the Twin Towers. In 2010 it became part of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Prior to the attacks it weighed 175 tons and was 22 feet high.

South Tower column

This column once stood in the core of the South Tower, probably between floors 30 and 33. During the tower’s collapse, extreme stresses caused the multi-ton piece of steel to fold over onto itself. Three of the four welds that held the column together split open.

Section of steel facade, North Tower, floors 93-99

Highjacked Flight 11 ripped through the north facade of the North Tower and created a gash from the 93rd to 99th floors tearing apart steel columns weighing many tons. The underbelly of the aircraft mangled this facade segment with force sufficient to twist and shred the steel. 

Segment of radio & TV antenna, formerly on North Tower

A transmission tower, about 360 feet tall, assembled on top of the roof of the North Tower began broadcasting TV signals in 1980. Transmissions for most stations failed after Flight 11 hit the North Tower on 9/11/2001. All transmissions ended by 10:28 am when the tower collapsed.

Lady Liberty stood outside a NYC firehouse

Weeks and months after the WTC attacks, a Statue of Liberty replica stood honor guard outside a NYC firehouse on 8th Ave and West 48th St. It's uncertain how the fiberglass statue suddenly appeared there. Its arrival soon resulted in ongoing, spontaneous ornamentation with messages and tributes left. Neighborhood volunteers arranged the offerings, along with other items that accumulated on sidewalks near the firehouse.

Covered with uniform patches, miniature American flags, money, mass cards, rosary beads, condolence notes, souvenir postcards, angel figurines and mementos from mourners and passersby, this unique memorial was donated to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in memory of firefighters from Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 which lost 15 men on 9/11. 

Garage door from Brooklyn Heights fire company

This garage door is from a firehouse in Brooklyn Heights, home to FDNY Engine Company 205 and Ladder Company 118. The door features a mural honoring 8 members of the fire companies who were killed responding to the 9/11 attacks. Lt. Frank Visco, a former member of the firehouse helped develop the tribute with FDNY colleagues and a high school student, Kit Carbone, who sketched a design which includes the Brooklyn Bridge and a star for each firefighter who died. Vesco, Kia and her artist father painted the mural in 2002.

Ladder Company 3 Truck, NYC Fire Department

This battered fire truck is a central and very powerful artifact at the 9/11 Museum. FDNY Ladder Company 3 is located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Ladder 3 responded to the WTC and when the North Tower collapsed, the truck was crushed and damaged beyond repair. It symbolizes the ultimate sacrifice of first responders, particularly its crew led by Captain Patrick (Paddy) John Brown, who perished when the North Tower fell. Recovered from the rubble, it was lowered into the museum's exhibition space and is preserved with other artifacts, including rescue tools, as a tribute honoring fallen firefighters.

The Last Column is a 58-ton, 36-foot high piece of welded plate steel that was part of Column 1001B, one of 47 columns that supported the inner core of the South Tower. When the tower collapsed, this remnant remained anchored in bedrock, buried beneath the wreckage. It now stands in the center of the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s Foundation Hall, the column is covered in thousands of markings and tributes placed on the beam by workers and family members. 

Here's how and why the markings began to appear. George Luis Torres, FDNY Squad 41, began searching for survivors of 9/11 and also for six men from their unit who were missing. In March 2002, a tool marked Squad 41 was found.  When it became harder for Torres to keep track of the beam, he asked an on-site construction manager, the brother of a missing Squad 41 firefighter, to mark the location on an exposed beam. 

SQ 41 was sprayed on the column in yellow paint to indicate where traces of the men were found. Later, recovery workers asked the manager to spray E 214 and L 111. Within 24 hours the column was covered with other unit identifications and the first attachments of memorial tributes that grew over the months.

The Last Column beam became a symbol of loss, remembrance and of the community at ground zero. It was removed from the site on May 30, 2002, to mark the end of the recovery effort. The beam was brought to the 9/11 Museum in 2009.

The Oculus, directly across from the 9/11 Museum, is a transit hub and mall

Directly across the street from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum is The Oculus, an architectural landmark, transit hub and shopping mall designed by noted Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It serves as a major gateway connecting PATH trains, NYC subways, shops, restaurants and the  WTC complex. All seven buildings of the original were destroyed, along with the PATH train station that served millions of commuters who traveled daily to Lower Manhattan.  

Construction began in 2004 and 12 years later, it opened to the public. The structure’s white metal-clad steel ribs reach up and out to symbolize a hand releasing a dove, symbolizing peace and resilience after 9/11. The Oculus is in alignment with the sun’s solar angles each September 11 from 8:46 am, when the first plane struck, until 10:28 am, when the second tower collapsed. Called the Way of Light, Calatrava positioned the building slightly tilted from the street grid to achieve the effect.

Interior view of the Oculus

The Oculus is the third largest transportation center in NYC. (I checked and read that Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal are larger.) Its lays claim to being one of the most expensive train station worldwide. Opening 10 years later than planned, it cost double the original $2 billion dollars budget due to the elaborate design, use of custom-made materials and the need to hurry construction. 

About its name, I learned that it comes from the strip of windows or skylights along the spine of the roof. Oculus is the Latin word for “eye,” which, in architecture, refers to a round or eye-like opening usually in the center of a dome or wall which serves as a natural light source usually with a view of the sky. 

* * * * * *

This was quite a long post about my first (and most likely last) visit to the WTC site post 9/11. If you should, you may be amazed, like myself, by the quiet atmosphere and whispered voices of others touring the grounds, especially in the museum.

Just wondering if anyone wants to share where you were and what you were doing what on 9/11/2001. It was my first day of being downsized. I was home when a friend called and told me to turn on the TV. I did for the next 48 hours.

How Sweet It Was

Maybe, it's because we currently live in a former textile factory or that we always seek out older, especially re-purposed buildings. Either way, our recent trip to PA combined both of these interests.

Day and night views of The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz, PA

That's because our accommodations were in a former chocolate factory, After the Wilbur Chocolate Company closed is was redeveloped and this hotel opened in 2016.. What's not to like about that? The ever-so-faint scent of chocolate could still be detected or maybe that was our imagination.

This wasn't our first PA visit, but our first stay in Lititiz was a family visit. Youngest granddaughter and family live in nearby Lancaster, PA. Her December birthday was celebrated belatedly with an indoor pool party at a nearby recreation center.

Lobby views of The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz, PA

Hotel lounge views of The Wilbur Hotel, Lititz, PA

Of course, it doesn't look anything like the former factory, but still preserves some of the original construction with the large wooden beams. Look closely at the bottom right photo for a larger reveal in the next photo.

The Wilburettes were company employees who performed at holiday parties

If you look in the center of the above bottom right photo, you can barely see this photo of "The Wilburettes" the Wilbur Chocolate Company employee version of the NYC Rockettes  In the 1940’s, the company held employee Christmas parties, quite often the party ended with some dance numbers by these ladies. 

Former Wilbur Chocolate Company on Broad St, Lititz, PA (Internet source)

Current view of Wilbur Chocolate Company (January 2025)

The Wilbur Chocolate Company was a mainstay on N. Broad St in Lititz, PA, for over 120 years. In January 2016, its celebrated 125-year old chocolate-making tradition in Lititz ended when chocolate production ended at the historic landmark. It's now The Wilbur Hotel, a 74-room boutique hotel, part of Hilton hotels. 

This photo, circa 1927, shows employees posed for a group shot outside the PA chocolate company. Apparently, everyone dressed up for this photo shoot.

How it All Began 

Back to the origins of the chocolate factory, which incidentally has a NJ connection (doesn't everything?) As natives of the state, it's interesting, sometimes not so much, to see how often our home state is involved mentioned in seeming everything.

Henry Wilbur

Way back in 1865, Henry Oscar Wilbur had a successful hardware business in Vineland, NJ. But, after meeting Samuel Croft, a candy maker, he switched businesses. The two men formed a partnership to produce hard and molasses candies for almost 20 years at a Philadelphia, PA, location. At that time, confectionery manufacturing equipment consisted of a kettle, a coal or coke fire, buckets and a marble slab. These hard candies were marketed to railroad companies to be sold onboard trains.

The partnership split up in 1884, Croft stayed in the hard candy business with a new partner. Wilbur went into the chocolate candy business forming H. O. Wilbur & Sons, with sons, Harry and William; oldest son, Bertram, later became a partner after Harry's death.

A 1911 newspaper ad featuring Wilbur Buds

The Wilbur Bud

What became the company's signature chocolate, the Wilbur Bud, debuted in 1894, and the exact date of a trademark is uncertain. But, the original machine used to make the candy was invented and patented by John Smith in 1889. The chocolate may look like another piece of well-known chocolate candy, but it was created first, 13 years earlier. More about that other candy later.

The machinery that made the Wilbur Bud chocolates

The chocolate's  creation was just good business. created by the company founder, Henry Wilbur. His mantra was that exceptional chocolate shouldn't be complicated, but he wanted it to be unique to sell more chocolate. Wilbur developed a process to deposit chocolate into a solid shape that looked like a flower bud. His creation was the Wilbur Bud, which is molded with a distinctive design and a flower shaped bottom. Each petal has a letter of the company name, WILBUR. Years ago, candies were wrapped, today the candies are unwrapped and sold in various packaging. 

Check out the price in this undated newspaper ad for Wilbur Buds

By 1905, the third generation of Wilbur family employees included Lawrence H. Wilbur, a European-trained chocolatier who invented a machine to foil wrap Wilbur Buds which were then packaged in boxes. Transport from factory to store shelves was slower years ago and protecting chocolate’s freshness was a concern. An exact date when this practice ended isn't known. It's speculated that the change occurred after the mid-20th century. By then, packaging technology had improved. The need for extra care lessened as new methods were adopted.

Ideal Chocolate Factory in Lititz, PA, was next to a Reading RR line

Although Wilbur Chocolate was still in Philadelphia, PA, another chocolate company was in Lititz, PA, Kendig Chocolate Company had started in 1900 and in 1902 was sold to The Ideal Chocolate Company which built a new plant at 48 North Broad St. adjacent to the Reading and Columbia rail station which made easy access to ingredients by rail. The company sold almond bars, chocolate cigars, and cocoa powder. In 1913, increased demand led to a five-story plant addition. In a 1927, Ideal merger with the Brewster Chocolate Company of Newark, NJ (another NJ connect) the company became the Brewster-Ideal Chocolate Company.

Red Book Magazine advertisement  for Wilbur Buds (year unknown)

Wilbur Chocolate Relocates, Eventually

Meanwhile,  H. O. Wilbur & Sons began business talks with a Swiss company, Chocolat Suchard, to secure rights to sell its chocolate. By 1928, the rights were purchased and the company name was Wilbur-Suchard Chocolate Company. 

Now comes the move to Lititz, after several mergers and acquisitions in the late 1920s, Wilbur-Suchard Chocolate bought out the Newark, NJ, Brewster-Ideal Chocolate factory and began operating three factories in Lititz, Philadelphia and Newark. Over time, the company shut down both the Philadelphia and Newark facilities and consolidated operations in the Lititz factory as that one was next to a railroad freight station. By year-end 1958, the company was solely the Wilbur Chocolate Company and it staying at the Broad St location there for nearly 60 years..

Besides the ever-popular Wilbur Bud, the company produced a variety of chocolate products and cocoa. In the early 1970s, a factory store was only open to employees for candy buys. Lititz is a small town, son word got out. Non-employees, mostly town residents, requested the store be opened to the public. And, it did in 1972 and, you know what, visitors came — to no one's surprise chocolate sales increased. 

These items were in the former Candy Americana Museum

Its value as a tourist destination increased even more after Penny Buzzard, wife of a former company president, spearheaded a move to add a Candy Americana Museum within the store Later, a candy-making kitchen was added so that tourists visitors could watch chocolatiers hand-make small batches of customer favorites. 

Chocolate Meltdown or Mergers and Aquisitions

In 1968, Wilbur Chocolate became a wholly-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Company and was sold four more times in 12 years. In 1992, it became part of the Minnesota-based Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate family. In 2016, the aging Broad St facility was shut down. and the bulk of chocolate production that had been done in Lititz was shifted to Cargill’s other PA-based facilities. Today, Wilbur Chocolate is one of four premium chocolate brands produced and sold by Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, others are Peter’s Chocolate, Veliche Belgian Chocolate, and Gerkens Cocoa Powder. 

The Wilbur Chocolate Store is located across the street from the former factory

The factory closed and so did the candy museum, but within a couple of years, the Wilbur Chocolate Store opened across the street from the former factory. Cargill, Inc. spent an estimated $250K dollars on the renovation of a former family-owned hardware store. Pieces from the museum are now in the store. A candy kitchen is also featured in the new space. 

Wilbur Buds are sold in two varieties: semi-sweet (dark) and milk chocolate

There's free samples of Wilbur Buds which have remained the most popular of all Wilbur chocolates. (Yes, we had some.) They're still produced according to Wilbur’s original recipe and still only in semisweet and milk chocolate. When the factory closed, the museum did too, so the store now includes a display of Wilbur artifacts that provide an insight into the company's history including the original Wilbur Bud machine.

Street view of the redeveloped Wilbur Chocolate Factory, Lititz. PA

The closed factory has been redeveloped not only to include The Wilbur Hotel, but also condos, a restaurant, hotel, luxury apartments, senior living and specialty market shops. 

A Kiss is Still a Kiss 

But, not as in the As Time Goes By song in the 1942 film, Casablanca. In the early 19th century, the term kiss was a generic term commonly used to describe a variety of bite-size confectionery products like chocolate, cinnamon and molasses candies. Irish poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery," but is it true for business as well? 

In 1907, Milton Hershey copied the Wilbur Bud, packaged it as the Hershey Kiss, a bite-sized piece of milk chocolate, and trademarked the name. Each candy was hand-wrapped until 1921 when new equipment automated foil wrapping. It also allowed adding the “Hershey plume” a paper strip that extends from the top of every chocolate. In early 1922, the Hershey Company took out full page ads reading: Insist upon having the “GENUINE” Sweet Milk Chocolate Hershey’s KISSES. Be Sure They Contain the Identification Tag ‘HERSHEY’S. In 1923,  Hershey trademarked the Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses name. The plume was trademarked in 1924, which prevents any other conical foil-wrapped chocolate to use the same packaging.

Compared to the Wilbur Bud, a Hershey Kiss is a cone with a flat, plain bottom. But as its design was less fancy, the candy could be made mass-produced by dropping it on a flat belt instead of using a special mold like the Wilbur Bud which was hand created. Also, unlike the Hershey Kiss, the Wilbur Bud was sold in milk and dark chocolate and this remains the same, unlike its competitor which is now available in various flavors. In 1909, Henry Wilbur failed in an attempt to sue the copy cat candy company. However, I was unable to find out exactly why he was not successful.

The two products were often compared due to their proximity. Lititz is about 20 miles from Hershey Company headquarters in Hershey, PA. Wilbur remained a regional brand for years, today it can be purchased online and at select retail locations, unlike Hershey which became a global brand. 

This has nothing to do with chocolate, but Milton Hershey was a confirmed passenger on the Titanic's ill-fated 1912 voyage. After vacationing in France in the winter of 191, Hershey had booked passage on the Titanic, but work-related matters may have caused him to cancel the sailing. Instead, he rebooked passage on the SS Amerika (later USS America) and left 4 days before Titanic sailed. 

The Wilbur Hotel gives guests a sample chocolate package

As chocoholics who have savored various types of chocolates, our preference is for the Wilbur Bud.

This was the view from our living room window early this morning. An overnight snowfall has nearly filled in the Nashua River. (I never tire of this scene.)

Wizard of Menlo Park

While in our home state of NJ for the recent holiday, we went to a site we'd never visited during all years of living there. Considering that it's dedicated to one of the state's most famous residents, this was definitely a much-belated road stop.

Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, NJ, museum and tower

The Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, which includes the Edison Memorial Tower and Menlo Park Museum, is located in the Menlo Park area of Edison, Middlesex County, NJ. Edison has been credited with inventing for so many technologies of modern life, not just the phonograph. 

By the time of his 1931 death, Edison held 1,093 patents covering the creation or refinements of devices in telegraphy, telephony, electric power generation, lighting, sound recording, motion pictures, storage batteries and cement technology. He was also a successful manufacturer and businessman who marketed his inventions to the public. Today, there are inventors who have surpassed Edison's number of patents.

Thomas A Edison Memorial Tower

The 131-foot tall Thomas A. Edison Memorial Tower marks the location of Edison's laboratory (nothing remains today). The tower, designed in 1937 by Gabriel Francois Massena and Alfred F. duPont of Wilmington, DE, was dedicated February 11, 1938. This was seven years after Edison's death on what would have been his 91st birthday. The Art Deco style of the tower shaft tapers upward to a 13-foot, 8-inch high replica of Edison’s first practical incandescent bulb which was made of Pyrex segments by the Corning Corporation. Since this design focuses attention to the light at the top, it also enhances the tower's sense of monumental height. 

The tower possesses architectural significance for its stylistic expression, construction techniques and use of architectural concrete. In November 1979, it was listed on the NJ State and National Registers of Historic Places as a significant commemorative landmark. It was closed in 1992 after slabs of concrete began falling from the 54-year-old structure and was put on the list of the state's most endangered historic sites. In 1997, the Edison Township Memorial Corporation started a $3.87 million renovation which ran from 2011-2015. Completion was marked by a re-dedication ceremony which included re-lighting the tower. 

Edison Center Museum, NJ

The small, two-room Edison museum houses a collection of memorabilia including historic light bulbs and portions of Edison's electric train track. In the 1880s, Edison created an experimental electric locomotive and test track at Menlo Park. Powered by electricity sent through the rails, the locomotive operated over a 3-mile track.

The museum highlights many of Edison's inventions including not only the phonograph but many of his light bulbs, as well as photographs of Edison's Menlo Park property and family. The museum is staffed by volunteers with limited hours and unfortunately, it wasn't open the day of our visit. While tours are free, the Edison Tower Memorial Corp. recommends a $5 per person donation. Hopefully, on a future NJ trip we can visit during opening times.

Menlo Park, NJ, was named after the town of Menlo Park, CA, which was the site of an unsuccessful real estate development. In 1954, the township of Menlo Park was renamed Edison Township in 1954 to honor its former resident. Over the next few years, the existing train station was renamed Edison, a post office was established, and all the fire companies in the various neighborhoods were consolidated into the Edison Fire Company.

An inventor and businessman, Edison resided in NJ for over 50 years, not only in Menlo Park, but also in Newark and West Orange. Menlo Park was his home from 1876 to 1882 and it's where he set up his research laboratory and later created what became known as the Invention Factory, the first research and development facility in the world. 

In the early 1870s, Menlo Park was a sparsely populated rural area. Edison purchased two parcels of land, about 34 acres in late 1875. He built the main laboratory building on the block south of Christie Street and built other ancillary buildings including the glass house, a carpenters’ shop, a carbon shed, and a blacksmith shop. By the Spring of 1876, Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory was the world’s first such research and development facility. 

Menlo Park Laboratory Site, Winter 1880-1881

Edison's extensive lab facilities and large staff gave Edison a major advantage over other inventors. He could work on different parts of a system or different inventions at the same time. He's credited with over 600 inventions including the phonograph, which led to Menlo Park being called the "Birthplace of Recorded Sound." The first words that Edison successfully recorded on the phonograph were “Mary had a Little Lamb.” By 1878, this invention was known all around the world and Edison became known as “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” 

Christie St became world's first street lit by lightbulbs in 1879

After the success of the photograph, Edison's next big invention was a successful incandescent lightbulb. Others  had been working on making light bulbs before. None of these earlier bulbs worked for more than a few minutes. On October 21, 1879, Edison’s bulb burned for a continuous 13-1/2 half hours. The next bulbs lasted 40 hours. By Christmas, Edison and his team worked to light the laboratory and his home with several of the new light bulbs, and on New Year’s Eve, Christie Street became the world’s first street to be lit by incandescent light bulbs with the aid of a power system designed by Edison. There's always a NJ connection; this was a very good one.

By the summer of 1880, Edison had perfected the incandescent bulb enough to be able to produce and sell it in large quantities. He remodeled a wooden building to serve as a Lamp Factory, established the Edison Electric Light Company and began working on using electricity for other purposes.

In 1887, Edison moved his laboratory out of Menlo Park into a new and much larger laboratory in West Orange, NJ. He spent the remaining 44 years of his life there, continuing to improve his earlier inventions and creating new ones including the motion picture camera. He died on October 18, 1931 at the age of 84. U.S. President Herbert Hoover on learning of Edison's death broadcast a nationwide radio address on Edison's great achievements and contributions to the progress of mankind.

Foundation outline of Edison's Office and Library, 1879-1884 

After Edison left Menlo Park, the property was abandoned; many buildings were occupied by squatters. The laboratory building was used as a theater, a dance hall, and a barn. Edison’s office, library building and home were used as private residences. The carbon shed was used as a chicken shed. Buildings continued to deteriorate and  completely fall apart. Edison’s home was destroyed in fire in 1914; his office and library building met the same fate in 1919. The laboratory, machine shop and other buildings were scavenged for building materials. By 1926, most of the buildings had either collapsed or burned.

The only two buildings left were moved to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI, where industrialist Henry Ford, a close friend of Edison, constructed a replica of the Menlo Park complex. Ford hired experts to locate surviving material belonging to the original Menlo Park laboratory and a reconstructed model of the building is now located there.

Greenfield Village is a collection of nearly 100 historic buildings on a 200-acre site. It was established in 1933 by Ford, who relocated or reconstructed buildings there from throughout the U.S. On a future road trip, it's definitely on our list of must-see places.

How about you — are there places in your area that you have never visited?