The Courtyard Marker

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West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Courtyard
Edison National Historic Site, NJ

The Courtyard Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2009

1. The Courtyard Marker

Inscription. This open space between the laboratory buildings served many purposes: delivery area, test site, motion picture set, photograph backdrop, greeting area, and parking lot. Activities here changed almost daily.

The laboratory buildings surrounding the courtyard once bustled with groups of assistants working on various inventions. Thomas Edison directed these projects toward a single end – organized, systematic research to produce “inventions useful in various arts.”

Erected by Edison National Historic Site, National Park Service.

Location. 40° 47.047′ N, 74° 14.015′ W. Marker is in West Orange, New Jersey, in Essex County. Marker can be reached from Main Street, on the right when traveling north. Click for map. Marker is located in Thomas Edison National Historical Park. Marker is in this post office area: West Orange NJ 07052, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Making Movies (a few steps from this marker); Thomas Edison’s West Orange Laboratory (a few steps from this marker); Black Maria Replica (a few steps from this marker); The Black Maria (within shouting distance of this marker); Chemistry Laboratory (within shouting distance of this marker); Pattern Shop (within shouting distance of this marker); The Main Gate (within shouting distance of this marker); Thomas A. Edison Industries (within shouting distance of this marker). Click for a list of all markers in West Orange.

Marker in Edison National Historical Park Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, November 6, 2009

2. Marker in Edison National Historical Park

More about this marker. The top right of the marker contains a photograph of “Employees filming a fire drill by the main laboratory building, 1912.” The lower left of the marker features a photograph of “Thomas Edison, in white suit on stage, address[ing] finalists in the Edison Scholarship Contest, 1929. Charles Lindberg is seated to the right of Edison.” Next to this is a photo of “Fred Ott, in derby hat, and his brother John – two of Edison’s longtime associates – test[ing] an electric railway motor for streetcar use, about 1890.”

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Take a tour of the markers found at the Laboratory Complex of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Also see . . . Thomas Edison National Historical Park, New Jersey. Nation Park Service website. (Submitted on November 7, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)