How NYC Became Bright

Electricity was first rolled out in New York in the late 19th Century, causing a culture shift and hefty competition. BBC shares the history behind the War of the Currents and its impact on New York City’s bright lights.

Inventor and electricity pioneer Thomas Edison and his colleagues had installed wiring throughout the walls of the house, which belonged to financier and investment banker J P Morgan. Incandescent lightbulbs had been added to every room – 385 in total.

In the cellar beneath a nearby stable, a steam engine, boiler and electrical generators clanked and roared away, writes historian Jill Jones in her 2004 book Empires of Light. Connected to the house via underground cables, these were manned by an expert engineer, who started duty at 3pm and finished at 11pm. Sometimes, when the family forgot to watch the clock, they would be suddenly plunged into darkness at this point, Herbert Satterlee, Morgan’s son-in-law, later wrote.

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