89 Liberty Street the Birthplace of Commercial Polyphase Power

Joseph J. Cunningham history 89 Liberty Street the birthplace of commercial polyphase power TODAY, 89 LIBERTY STREET IN New York City is part of the pedestrian In this issue’s “History” column, we examine the significance of 89 Liberty Street in plaza of the large office building known New York. This address was the 19th-century site of a small commercial structure as 1 Liberty Plaza. In 1887, it was the in which the first practical induction motor and polyphase system was constructed, site of a small commercial structure in patented, and demonstrated by inventor Nikola Tesla. The significance of this in- which the first practical induction motor novation was acknowledged over the subsequent half-century by leading electrical and polyphase system was constructed, engineers, culminating in this location being considered the birthplace of commer- patented, and demonstrated. Vital to cial polyphase power. Tlarge-scale commercial electrification, the polyphase system was declared by Joseph J. Cunningham returns for his ninth time to the pages of this “History” experts to be the most significant inven- column. He has researched and authored numerous works on topics such as indus- tion of the electrical age. It can be said trial electrification, electric utility power systems, and electric rail transportation. that the structure at 89 Liberty Street His book New York Power was published by the IEEE History Center Press in 2013. was truly the birthplace of modern ac We welcome him back as our guest history author for this issue of IEEE Power & technology in the United States. Energy Magazine. It was there that electrical engineer John Paserba and inventor Nikola Tesla (Figure 1) es- Associate Editor, History tablished his first laboratory in a small room on the second floor. With little more than a work bench, a few tools, and basic electrical instruments, he pro- electrical engineer and radio pioneer Dr. duced a demonstration of his induction E.F.W. Alexanderson said, “The induc- motor and the polyphase power system tion motor and our power system are it required. The significance of those in- enduring monuments to Nikola Tesla.” novations was noted over the next half- Dr. Charles Scott, past president of the century by leading electrical engineers. Bernard Behrend, vice president of the American Institute of Electrical Editor’s Note: In a previous article by Engineers (AIEE), declared during Joseph J. Cunningham, “Forgotten the May 1917 AIEE meeting at which Pioneer,” which appeared in the July/ the AIEE Edison medal was awarded August 2018 issue of IEEE Power & En- to Tesla, “Not since the appearance of ergy Magazine, the term Grand Cen- Faraday’s Experimental Researches in tral Station should be Grand Central Electricity has a great experimental truth been voiced so simply and so clearly. He Terminal, as the reference is to the left nothing to be done by those who present 1913 terminal, not the previ- followed him.” On another occasion, ous Grand Central Station of the 19th century that existed when the Daft/ figure 1. Nikola Tesla, circa 1890. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2018.2863618 Excelsior system was in operation. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Date of publication: 18 October 2018 Commons.) 88 IEEE power & energy magazine 1540-7977/18©2018IEEE november/december 2018 AIEE and chair of the Electrical Engi- neering Department at Yale University, stated, “The evolution of electric power from the discovery of Faraday in 1831 to the great installation of the Tesla polyphase system at Niagara Falls in 1896 is undoubtedly the most tremendous event in all engineering history.” By 1882, Tesla had conceptualized an induction motor driven by the rotat- ing magnetic field produced by ac that was out of phase. He conceived the principle in Europe, but his failure to elicit interest on the part of potential in- vestors led to his emigration to America and a search for financial support in New York. After several false starts, he obtained financial backing from A.K. Brown of the Western Union Tele- graph Company and two of Brown’s colleagues. Together, they founded the figure 2. An 1899 map of the key locations in New York City, which are Tesla Electric Company in April 1887 discussed in this article. A: The Tesla lab at 89 Liberty Street; B: The Safety (later and leased a second-floor room at 89 United) Electric Light and Power Company offices; C: Edison’s 1889 Liberty Liberty Street. That location was propi- Street Annex Station; D: The Excelsior Power Company building, and E: Edison’s tious, for if any place could be claimed 1882 Pearl Street Station. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.) as the “cradle of commercial power,” the UTILITIES & ENERGY COMPLIANCE & ETHICS CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 10-12, 2019 | HOUSTON, TX GREAT EDUCATION & NETWORKING The utilities and energy industries are highly regulated, each with their own set of compliance issues. Find out SAVE about new regulations, dive deep into specific topics, REGISTER BY DECEMBER 7 and build connections with others facing similar challenges at this once-a-year conference. corporatecompliance.org/utilities Questions? [email protected] scce-2019-util-energy-IEEE-ad-nov-half-page.indd 1 9/18/18 2:34 PM The structure Stochastic Hydro: at 89 Liberty Uncertainty, solved. Street was truly Storage management and the birthplace dispatch decisions are always of modern ac hampered by uncertainty. technology Fortunately, a hydro tool exists to in the United guide optimal decision making. States. PLEXOS is the world’s leading energy simulation software that financial district area of lower Manhat- tan would certainly be it. allows you to customise and Edison’s legendary 1882 Pearl Street conﬁgure to deliver optimised power station at 255-57 Pearl Street was only a few blocks away. One block closer, models and effective forecasts. at 33-43 Gold Street, the Excelsior Pow- er Company’s new electric generating station was nearly complete; it supplied power for the first dc motors that elec- trified industries in lower Manhattan. Just across from Broadway, at 59 Lib- erty Street, the Safety Electric Light and Power Company established an office and was then renamed the United Elec- tric Light and Power Company, an electric utility pioneer destined to perfect efficient ac distribution systems ad apted to dense urban areas. Diagonally across from Broadway, at 60 Liberty Street, Edison’s second power station was constructed in 1886. Described as an “annex” station, it had no boilers but was powered by steam from the boilers of the building in which it was located. Numerous arc light, telegraph, and tele- phone facilities were also constructed in the area. In 1881, the New York Board of Fire Underwriters wrote the first known electrical safety code from its office in the Borrell Building at 115 Broadway, just one block south. That code is said to be the predecessor of the first National Electric Code, which appeared a decade later. Figure 2 shows a geographical per- spective of these historic areas. Tesla’s initial goal was a practical induction motor and polyphase system that could be patented and then demonstrated to industrialists for commercial energyexemplar.com development. Thus, 89 Liberty Street november/december 2018 IEEE power & energy magazine 91 was where the visions of experi- uivalent to that of the commer- mental devices that he had built cial dc systems of the day. in Europe were translated into His patent attorneys of the law practical hardware. His power firm Duncan, Curtis, and Page was provided by an alternator submitted the system to the pat- driven by a steam engine in the ent office on 12 October 1887. The stationery and printing company patent office responded that, as on the first floor. He could use the system was so complex, it the alternator only when the steam needed to be divided into smaller engine was not in use for print- units. New submissions followed ing, which limited his work hours on 30 November and 23 Decem- to times when the business was ber 1887. closed. Nonetheless, the facili- Seven patents were granted ties sufficiently met his needs, figure 3. Tesla’s model induction motor as on 1 May 1888 as follows: mo- and he produced working com- demonstrated before the AIEE in May 1888. (Image tors: 381968, 381969, and 382279; ponents within a few months. courtesy of the National Museum of American transmission: 382280 and 382281; By the summer of 1887, he had History, Smithsonian Institution.) distribution: 381970; and conver- produced a polyphase system and sion and distribution: 382282. induction motor that was to be analy- University. Anthony’s results indicated Five more patents followed for varia- zed by electrical engineering expert that the motor and polyphase system tions of four- and three-wire systems: Prof. William A. Anthony of Cornell promised to achieve an efficiency eq 390413, 390414, and 390415, and 18 92 IEEE power & energy magazine november/december 2018 cient and excessively expensive due to Barrington, Massachusetts, which was The polyphase the small areas they supplied. based on the transformer invented by concept also Westinghouse had been on a two- William Stanley. In an effort to develop year quest to develop ac systems that a system of his own, Westinghouse li- offered a could transmit power over a large area. censed the Stanley patent and also those In March of 1886, he financed an ex- of a variety of European inventors. All substantial perimental ac lighting system in Great of those efforts employed single-phase increase in efficiency when compared to the single-phase system. followed. Ultimately, 40 patents were granted for the inventions developed at 89 Liberty Street. STRENGTH Market Search The development of patentable devices was merely the beginning for Tesla, as it was still necessary to attract the interest of a company with the resources to produce and market the system.

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