Thomas Edison Park Brought $4.7M To West Orange Area In 2016: Report

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Thomas Edison National Historical Park has a high value to the Essex County community in which it resides. It’s about $4.7 million, according to the recently released National Park Service’s “2016 Visitor Spending Effects Report.”

Last week, the National Park Service announced that the West Orange historical park - which houses the laboratory where Thomas Edison worked on the perfected phonograph, motion pictures and the nickel-iron alkaline storage battery – welcomed more than 57,000 visitors during 2016.

Those visitors spent $3.4 million in communities near the park, which in addition to the 44 jobs created in the local area, meant a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $4.7 million, park administrators said.

• See related article: Thomas Edison National Park In West Orange Gets Electric

“National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service,” Park Superintendent Thomas Ross said. “We appreciate our West Orange community partnerships and are glad to help support the local economy along the downtown Main Street corridor and beyond.”

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