The first central station for the commercial distribution of electricity was set going on the 4th of September, 1882, by Thomas Edison himself, at 257 Pearl Street, New York City. Newspapers of the following day had much to say. Wonder was expressed over the "blazing horseshoe that glowed within a pear-shaped globe." Another told of "the dim flicker of gas supplanted by a steady glare, bright and mellow."A third observed, "As soon as it is dark enough to need artificial light, you turn the thumb-screw and the light is there; no nauseous smell, no flicker, no glare."

Among the five or six buildings supplied with the new lighting were the Herald offices and the Drexel Building, at the time one of New York City's show places. The illumination of the latter was held to be a truly momentous achievement owing to its great size. The equipment, in other words, reached the grand total of 106 lamps. In comparison, it is interesting to mention the lighting equipment of the new Municipal Building, in New York City, numbering something over 15,000 lamps.