Pearl Street in Miniature: Models of the Electric Generating Station [History

Abstract

The inspiration for this history article was supplied by Thomas J. Blalock, a frequent contributor of interesting and informative history articles to these pages. Recently, Tom sent me a photocopy of p. 459 of the 2 March 1929 issue of Electrical World. One of a number of short entries under Briefer News on the page was York Edison Makes Models of Old Pearl Street Station. The piece discussed three working scale models of Thomas Alva Edison's pioneering Pearl Street, Manhattan, central generating station. The models were built in the mechanical construction shops of the New York Edison Company, a direct predecessor of the present Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison). In the margin of the photocopy, Tom wrote the following note: Carl, I wonder if any of these still exist? Thus began my quest to locate any survivors of the three models built in the late 1920s.