With Another ConEd Job, Thoughts Turn to @RealThomasAEdison

Lighting Up West End Avenue Since 1897

By Caitlin Hawke

I got the message at far bottom today from ConEd.  So this explains the decibels I endured this morning, despite the rain that you'd think would put a damper on things.

Thinking about electricity and what at times seems like our city's crumbling infrastructure, my thoughts jumped to a charming tidbit I'd unearthed a while back when researching the history of a building in these parts.  It comes from the March 6, 1897, edition of The Electrical Age (Volume 19, No. 10, p. 148):

It seems that 855 West End Avenue, then just constructed and known as The St. Andoche Apartment House -- a name lost to history -- was way out in front when it came to electrical equipment. Thanks to Thomas A. Edison, the incandescent bulb was born in 1879.  And just 18 years later, the invention and ensuing applications were still fresh enough to make a new building's electrical technology worthy of noting.

Ok, so no one irons anymore, and we don't have gas lamps, but it's sort of incredible to think how little the technology has changed in the 12 decades since this tidbit ran.  The lesson that comforts me is how quickly a new technology can be adapted and applied to benefit all.

Let's see where is all goes.  Fiat lux, ConEd.  Fiat lux!

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