Glenmont, Concrete Garage, Llewellyn Park, West Orange, Essex County, NJ

Significance: The two-story garage built for Mr. Edison at his home, Glenmont, is a good example of a poured concrete building of the early twentieth century. Contemporary concrete buildings were not commonplace but they were by no means rare. The garage was well constructed and is still in good condition, for the most part, at the time it was documented in 1963. It is not known whether it was experimental. There is a good deal of decorative work on the exterior (cornices and pilasters) which probably indicates skill acquired through experimentation on concrete houses. Otherwise the building does not appear to exhibit any particular solution to difficulties for the time it was erected. The span of the reinforced concrete beams is wider than one might expect to find but the theory of design was reasonably well known by then. The section is quite large and apparently its weight caused some deflection of the forms when the beams were poured. It is not known whether reinforcing was used in the walls. There is a turntable in the first floor. The second floor served as the servants' quarters.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-577
Survey number: HABS NJ-729-C