City Lights

ISSUE 65– STEVE KOVACS FUN WITH MAPS

DAILY FEATURE: By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (September 4, 2020) – In Issue 65 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps we learn about the first electrical lighting of a city.

Let There be Light!

Can you imagine living without bright lights on streets, in your home, in stores, and so on? 

Well, all that started just 138 years ago today with the first successful demonstration of electrical lighting of a city. Thomas Edison’s Company achieved that in the streets of Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. 

Edison didn’t get everything right though. He advocated Direct Current (DC) for electrical power transmission, but ultimately his competition, George Westinghouse using Nicola Tesla’s invention of practical Alternating Current (AC)  generation, won the day for power transmission. AC is more efficient and somewhat ‘safer’ than DC at higher voltages.  Still, DC has its place as it is used in computer circuitry, battery operated devices and the like.

Here is Mitchell’s map of lower Manhattan from 1860.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Click here to visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.