Current Events and Status
Events past and present
May-July 2011 - An Engineers Ride Across the USA - Edison Tech Center volunteer Bill Kornrumpf crosses the country and gathers information on engineering history sites,follow along in his journal.April 2011 - New displays open at the Edison covering new areas such as: The Transformer, Insulators, Electric Motor, Fluorescent Lights. Displays were built by volunteer Bill Lober.
March 18, 2011 - Tour: Edison Tech Center tour and discussion with US Congressman Paul Tonko
February 20, 2011 - Premiere of Wizards of Schenectady - Dr. Harold Chestnut, Pioneer in Automatic Control Engineering. The documentary film was shown at the Unitarian Church in Schenectady. Dr. Chestnut was a member of the Unitarian society at the church during his lifetime
July 2010 - Our facility at 132 North Broadway in Schenectady re-opens to the public after a one-year of being closed for reorganization.
Summer 2010 - The Edison Tech Center has been working with other organizations in the creation of new web pages on untold areas of history. Some partners have been the Great Barrington Historical Society, California State Parks, Greg Millet of the Magic Lantern Society, Schenectady County Historical Society, the Schenectady Museum, and groups promoting the history of Ironville and Joseph Henry.
Ongoing Projects:
We are currently developing our public displays. We have exhibits on lighting, electromagnets, electric motors, audio, photovoltaics, microwaves, the first electric appliances(includes irons, refrigerators, ovens, heating pads, and more), and recording technology.
The Edison Tech Center web page grows by the month with new information on the history of electricity. Look at our Resources Page for a list of online resources.
Each week or two we release a new short video on engineering history on our YouTube video channel.
For volunteering or intern opportunities please contact us.
Current Facility:
The tall building in the image, used only for storage at the present, has an interesting history of its own. It is the former press building for the Schenectady Gazette, now the Daily Gazette and, once per week, the Sunday Gazette, whose HQ is now on Maxon Road in Schenectady.North Broadway in front of the 3-building complex depicted is one way, north to south (right to left in the photo), and may be entered from Liberty Street to the north. See Directions
The Edison Tech Center office and current display space is in the building at the left, the former Skypes Gallery. Inside, among many other things, of course, is the 1914 "Duplex Drive Broughm" built by the Detroit Electric Car company.
Schenectady is, of course, the original home and headquarters of the illustrious General Electric Company, the only company that has been continuously listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index since inception of that index in 1886, and the employer of Steinmetz for most of his working life. Nonetheless, John Dos Passos was less than kind to GE in his famous novel of 1930, The 42nd Parallel, in which his profile of the wizard included a phrase that crackled with electricity: "Steinmetz was the most valuable piece of appartus General Electric had—until he wore out and died."
copyright 2010 Edison Tech Center
