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THE HOUSE AT GLENMONT
HOME OF THOMAS EDISON
Edison National Historic Site
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Volume I
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Historic Structure Report
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation
http://archive.org/details/houseatglennionthOOyocu
THE HOUSE AT GLENMONT
HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT
Edison National Historic Site
West Orange, New Jersey
VOLUME IB y
Barbara A. Yocum
Building Conservation Branch, Cultural Resources Center
North Atlantic Region, National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Lowell, Massachusetts
Written 1995
Published 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME I
LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS viii
PREFACE xxiii
INTRODUCTION xxiv
I. ADMINISTRATIVE DATA 1
fflSTORICAL BACKGROUND 3
NFS PLANNING DOCUMENTS 4
PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE 6
n. ARCHITECTURAL fflSTORY 7
PEDDER OWNERSHIP: CONSTRUCTION AND ALTERATIONS, 1880-84 .9
The Pedders and Llewellyn Park 9
The Architect: Henry Hudson Holly 10
The Pedder House 14
Estate Name 19
Final Year: 1884 20
Value of the Pedder Estate 21
ARNOLD CONSTABLE & COMPANY OWNERSHIP, 1884-86 30
EDISON OWNERSHIP AND ALTERATIONS, 1886-1931 32
Purchase of the "Pedder Place" 32
Transfer to Mrs. Edison 33
Estate Name "Glenmont" 34
Household Management 34
Glenmont in the Press 37
Maintenance and Major Alterations 38
Inventories and Appraisals 46
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Table of Contents
MRS. EDISON ALONE, 1931-47 63
Introduction 63
Renovations 63
Sale of Glenmont 64
OWNERSHIP BY THOMAS A. EDISON, INC., 1946-59 66
FEDERAL OWNERSHIP, 1959-85 73
Administrative History 73
Work on the House 74
Determination of Restoration Date 78
m. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRffTION: PHYSICAL EVOLUTION
AND EXISTING CONDITIONS 85
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM 87
General Description 87
Early History 87
National Park Service Work 89
EXTERIOR ELEMENTS 92
General Description 92
Foundation 94
Walls 95
Porches and Roof Decks 98
Doorways and Entrance Steps 105
Windows 114
Roof 125
Rooftop Ventilator 132
Gutter System 133
Lightning-Protection System 138
Chimneys 140
Painted Finishes 146
INTERIOR ROOMS 154
CELLAR 154
General Description 154
Boiler Room (Room Bl) 166
IV
Table of Contents
Unexcavated Area B2 169
Unexcavated Area B3 169
Coal Room #2 (Room B4) 170
Coal Room #2/Heater Room (Room B5) and Room B5a 172
Coal Room #1 (Room B6) and Unexcavated Area B7 175
Hall (Room B8) 178
Closet (Room BSa) and Dumbwaiter Shaft (Room BSb) 181
Store Room #2 (Room B9) 183
Hall (Room BIO) 187
Store Room #1 (Room Bll) and Unexcavated Area B12 189
Bulkhead Entrance (Room B13) 193
Pump Room (Room B14) 195
Wood Room (Room B15) 200
Closet (Room B16) 202
Store Room #3 (Room B17) 204
Ash Room (Room B18) and Unexcavated Area B19 207
Unexcavated Areas B20-B24 209
FIRST STORY 210
General Description 210
Drawing Room (Room 100) 212
Conservatory (Room 101) 233
Reception Room (Room 102) 250
Hall (Room 103) 268
Main Stairway 287
Entrance (Room 103a) 294
Library (Room 104) 298
Service Dining Room (Room 105) 315
Laundry (Room 106) 322
Kitchen (Room 107) 333
Refrigerator Room (Room 107a) 346
Pantry (Room 108) 352
Laboratory Entrance (Room 109) 363
Laboratory (Room 110) 368
Pantry Closet (Room 111) 381
Flower Room (Room 112) 387
Butler's Room (Room 113) 391
Den (Room 114) 396
Dining Room (Room 115) 428
Fern Room (Room 116) 454
Service Hall (Room 117) 460
Coat Closet (Room 118) 470
Telephone Room (Room 119) 473
Lavatory (Room 120) 477
Kitchen Entrance (Room 121) 482
Table of Contents
VOLUME II
SECOND STORY 483
General Description 483
South Room (Room 200) 485
South Bathroom (Room 201) 500
Second-Story Porch (Room 202) 508
Owner's Room (Room 203) 516
Owner's Bath (Room 204) 540
Living Room (Room 205) 553
Mr. Theodore's Room (Room 206) 585
Northeast Bathroom (Room 207) 601
Service Bathroom (Room 208) 607
North Room Lavatory (Room 209) 612
North Room (Room 210) 617
Hall Bathroom (Room 211) 629
West Bathroom (Room 212) 640
West Room (Room 213) 652
Second Floor Hall (Rooms 214 and 214b) 673
Store Room (Room 214a) 687
Service Hall (Room 215) 693
THIRD STORY 701
General Description 701
Mr. Charles' Room (Room 300) 704
Miss Bogue's Room (Room 301) 716
Sun Room (Room 302) 727
Bathroom (Room 303) 730
Blue Room (Room 304) 739
Sewing Room (Room 305) 749
Bed Room #1 (Room 306) 760
Bed Room #2 (Room 307) 765
Bed Room #3 (Room 308) 771
Bed Room #4 (Room 309) 776
Bed Room #5 (Room 310) 781
Hall: Service Portion (Room 311) 786
Hall: Master Portion (Room 312) 793
VI
Table of Contents
ATTIC 802
General Description 802
Bed Room (Room Al) 804
Storage Area (Room A2) 810
Stair Hall (Room A3) 811
Cedar Closet (Room A4) 815
Store Room (Room A5) 817
Unfinished Attic (Room A6) 819
UTILITIES 824
Gas System 824
Electrical System 829
Heating System 842
Cooling System 851
Plumbing System 852
PROTECTION SYSTEMS 865
Fire Detection and Suppression Systems 865
Security Systems 870
Pest Management 874
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS 877
V. APPENDICES 887
APPENDIX A. Measured Drawings, Historic American Buildings Survey .... 889
APPENDIX B. Doonvays and Windows (Floor Plans and Window Charts) ... 919
APPENDIX C. Paint Analysis 951
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1009
vn
LIST OF FIGURES AND CREDITS
VOLUME I
Figure pag^
1. Early sketch of the Pedder house, signed in the lower right-hand corner,
"H. Hudson Holly Architect, 111 BWAY NY, Jan. 30TH 1880."
Edison NHS catalog #102,915 23
2. Exterior elevation drawing and first-floor plan, published as Plate 296 in
American Architect and Building News, Aug. 27, 1881 24
3. Detail of "Map of Residence and Grounds Belonging to H.C. Pedder Esq.,
Llewellyn Park, Orange N.J.," by Mead and Taylor, Engineers, 1882.
Edison NHS catalog #144,424 25
4. Earliest-known exterior photograph of the Pedder house, circa 1882-83.
This date is based on the presence of the Conservatory addition and the
absence of the Drawing Room addition. Reproduced from American Victorian
Architecture: A Survey of the 70 's and 80 's in Contemporary Photographs,
reprinted by Dover Publications, Inc. The photograph is Plate III. 11, labeled
"H.H. Holly; Henry C. Pedder Residence, Llewellyn Park, Orange, N.J." 26
5. Photograph of the south elevation, taken sometime after July 1884 and before
May 1890. This is a partial view of a framed panoramic photograph that
hangs in the Den. The dates were arrived at based on the construction of
the Den addition in July 1884, and the absence of the large awning over the
Conservatory installed in May 1890. It was definitely taken before June
1891, when hinged covers were made for the Den's skylight windows.
Edison NHS catalog #103,738 27
6. Photograph of the north and east elevations, taken sometime between circa
1884 and 1890. The date circa 1884 was determined based on the presence
of the west Laboratory addition; the date 1890 is based on the fact that the
gutter leaders and leader heads are still a light color (they were a dark color
by 1890). This view was definitely taken by 1899, before the "well house"
was moved away from the main house. A framed print is at Edison NHS 28
7. Detail of figure 6, showing the "well house" 29
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