The Thomas Edison Memorial Tower and Menlo Park Museum was built in 1937 to mark the "Birthplace of Recorded Sound" in the Menlo Park section of what is now the town of Edison. The World's Largest Light Bulb is thirteen feet tall, weighs eight tons, and is illuminated at night. The tower marks the spot where Edison invented the light bulb (Henry Ford stole the actual workshop and bottled Edison's Last Breath). The museum curator, Jack Stanley, entertained with amazing tales of Edison and his competitors, but said the Last Breath thing was a bunch of hooey.
Inside the tower's base is a "highly exhausted" light bulb that's been burning since 1929, when the tower was built. Or at least it was there when we visited years ago. This trip, the tower was locked up tight, showing signs of deterioration. There's a local effort underway to restore it and expand the museum.
