September 4, 1882

Pearl Street Station

Pearl Street Station begins commercial electric service in Lower Manhattan

Edison was not standing in the power station. He waited in J. Pierpont Morgan's office while the chief electrician closed the plant circuit.

3 p.m., 4 September 1882

The Edison Electric Illuminating Company's Pearl Street station began commercial operation at 3 p.m. on 4 September 1882, supplying direct current through underground conductors to Manhattan's First District.

Chief electrician John W. Lieb closed the operating switch that sent current from the station. Edison, in Morgan's office, switched on lamps there — which is why accounts saying Edison “threw the switch” need splitting in two.

Four hundred lamps on a system built for thousands

Only about 400 lamps belonging to fewer than 90 customers were connected on opening day. The station's six dynamos had capacity for roughly 7,200.

By evening customers including the New York Times and Drexel, Morgan & Company were receiving steady incandescent lighting. The Times reporter noted that the light could be switched on with a thumbscrew and made the rooms appear daylight-bright — and filed the story under “Miscellaneous City News.”

How much of a first it was

The opening-day service area covered about a quarter of a square mile. Pearl Street was not the first central generating station of any kind in the United States: the U.S. Census history identifies the California Electric Light Company's 1879 San Francisco arc-light station as the first central station operating arc lamps.

Nor was it the first station using underground conductors. Edison's own Holborn Viaduct station in London had opened in January 1882.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 8 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

Opening-day accounts variously give 82, about 85, or fewer than 90 customers. Approximately 400 connected lamps is consistent across the stronger sources.
Sources sometimes describe Edison as having “thrown the switch.” More detailed engineering accounts distinguish Edison’s ceremonial switch in Morgan’s office from John Lieb’s closing of the station circuit.
Historical sources use inconsistent meanings of “first”: first Edison commercial plant in the United States, first practical incandescent central-station system, or first power station generally.