Menlo Park Glass House

01

Artifact Overview

Originally built as a photographic studio and drafting room, the glassblowing shop was fundamental to Edison's enterprise. Edison's incandescent lighting experiments ensured that the laboratory had a voracious appetite for glass -- not only for bulbs but also for associated apparatus such as vacuum pumps. Ludwig Boehm, the laboratory's first master glassblower, worked here -- and lodged in the attic space.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Building (Structure)

Date Made

1878

Subject Date

1878-1886

Creator Notes

The building was originally commisioned by Thomas Edison at his Menlo Park Complex. His father, Samuel Edison oversaw construction.

Location

at Greenfield Village in Edison at Work District

Object ID

29.3049.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Wood (Plant material)
Glass (Material)
Metal