On what date did Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street Station begin operating?

Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street Station began operating on September 4, 1882.

Located in lower Manhattan, Pearl Street Station was one of the first central power stations to supply electricity to multiple customers. It used coal-fired steam engines to drive generators and distributed direct current through underground conductors. The station initially served customers in a limited area around Pearl Street.

The project was more than a generator installation. Edison and his associates had to develop a complete system involving dynamos, wiring, meters, switches, underground conduits, and incandescent lamps. This systems approach distinguished the station from simply demonstrating a single electric light.

Pearl Street Station is sometimes confused with the date of Edison’s successful lamp experiments or the 1882 public lighting demonstration in London. Its operating date is specifically September 4, 1882, a major milestone in the commercial history of electric power.