Nela Park is the headquarters of GE Lighting (a Savant company), located in East Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is widely recognized as the first industrial park in the world and served as the site of many of the 20th century's major lighting breakthroughs.
History and Development
Nela Park was conceived in 1910 by Franklin Terry and Burton Tremaine, officers of the National Electric Lamp Company. The name "NELA" is an acronym for the National Electric Lamp Association, an organization formed in 1901 by John Robert Crouse Sr., J.B. Crouse, and H.A. Tremaine. When the association was dissolved and absorbed into General Electric, development of the site began in 1911.
The location was selected on a small plateau 234 feet above Lake Erie, featuring dense woods and a ravine. The building program started in 1911 under the architectural direction of Frank E. Wallis of Wallis & Goodwillie of New York, who studied Georgian architecture in southern England to prepare the design. The buildings were erected by the Austin Company, whose work at Nela Park led to the standardization of construction methods in industrial building.
Campus and Architecture
The 92-acre (370,000 m²) campus comprises 20 major buildings and several smaller structures, arranged in a landscaped park setting. The dominant architectural style is Georgian Revival, and four of the major buildings are arranged around a central Quadrangle. The largest building is the Lamp Laboratory on the south end. The Institute building (1921) features a 72-foot bell tower and a Georgian facade facing a circular pool with a bronze statuary group symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness. The complex was advanced for its time, with underground tunnels for all utilities.
Significance
Nela Park is considered the first planned industrial research park in the world. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 (NRHP reference No. 75001365). The campus houses the GE Lighting & Electrical Institute, founded in 1933, which was the first institution of its kind devoted purely to the education and teaching of lighting.
Notable Events
- During World War I, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps maintained a research station at Nela Park.
- In 1921, physicist Albert Einstein visited Nela Park with Ernest Fox Nichols.
- Each December, Nela Park features a world-famous Christmas lighting display, culminating in a miniature version of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C.
Ownership
In March 2022, GE Lighting sold Nela Park to an affiliate of Phoenix Investors, a Milwaukee-based real estate firm. GE Lighting continues to operate a portion of its business on the site as a tenant.
