See inside Thomas Edison’s New Jersey lab, where some of America’s biggest inventions took shape

• Thomas Edison’s laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, opened in 1887.
• Edison personally conducted experiments in chemistry, machinery, electricity, and other fields.
• In the laboratory, he and his staff developed the first motion-picture camera.

The facility’s three-story library doubled as a movie theater.

The library served multiple purposes beyond being a reading room. A large projection screen sat discreetly on one wall, allowing motion pictures to be shown. Edison used the library to entertain important guests and hold business meetings.

The library is home to about 10,000 books, according to the park. Along the walls, Edison displayed numerous portraits and awards, such as honorary degrees from universities.

He even kept a bed handy.

Edison used this bed in a library alcove for short naps while working, though the inventor’s famous napping technique usually involved sitting in an armchair. Edison held a steel ball while falling asleep, and when his muscles relaxed and the ball hit the floor, he’d purportedly have a jolt of creativity, according to the journal Science.

Edison’s desk in the library remains unchanged from the day he died in 1931.

He sorted paperwork for his companies, finances, scientific ideas, and other matters in the desk’s many cubbies, per the park.

But his favorite room was a plain, unassuming space.

Though many would be quick to crown the library the best workspace in the lab, Edison preferred Room 12, a quiet and much less extravagant setting on the second floor. Edison used the space to meet with assistants or quietly take notes in private.

The inventor was a prolific notetaker. He and his staff filled more than 3,500 notebooks throughout his career, the park said.

The lab allows visitors to see how some of America’s biggest innovations started with years of hard work and collaboration.

While about half of Edison’s patents were born out of the lab, it was the work of scores of people at any given time that made these achievements possible. For the alkaline storage battery alone, Edison conducted over 10,000 experiments to find the right materials, according to the park.

Experiments for various projects were conducted over the course of years or even decades, showing how many of the luxuries of modern life we enjoy today didn’t come easily.