Contract awarded for restoration of Edison Memorial Tower
The tower honoring inventor Thomas Edison’s accomplishments in New Jersey will be restored now that a $2.4 million contract has been approved.
Built circa 1937, the Edison Memorial Tower in Middlesex County marks the site of Edison’s Menlo Park lab, where inventions like the light bulb and phonograph came to be.
Astral Construction Services of Bergenfield will repair the monument, which has been closed to the public for several years because of crumbling concrete.
Funding for the restoration includes $1.5 million in corporate business tax funds and state capital appropriation dollars provided by the Department of Environmental Protection, and $875,000 committed by the Middlesex County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund and the Edison Memorial Tower Corporation.
In addition to general cleaning and repairs, the speaker system will be replaced and the stone plaza around the tower will be restored.
The Edison Memorial Tower Corporation will hold several events during the restoration. You can keep track of the restoration effort and see photos on the Menlo Park Museum website.
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