Nestled in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio, GE’s NELA Park campus is a remarkable blend of history and innovation. This sprawling, picturesque campus has been a cornerstone of General Electric’s Lighting Division and has played a pivotal role in the evolution of lighting technology.
The National Electric Lamp Association (NELA) was organized in May 1901 by a group of small electric companies to pool their research and development activities in order to share in the outcomes of those engineering efforts. The General Electric Company later absorbed the NELA group and its 37 acres of land in Cleveland, Ohio.
GE began to build an industrial campus with seven buildings to house its Quality Lamp Works Division. The campus was called NELA Park and was the nation’s first industrial park. GE officially opened the facility on April 18, 1913.
By 1937, GE had made NELA Park the headquarters for its incandescent lamp department. From 1913 to 1963, two-thirds of the work performed there consistently involved research and development. During that time, they introduced high- and low-beam headlights for automobiles (1924), camera flashbulbs (1930), and the fluorescent lamp (1938). Research and development continued to grow to 24 major buildings with over 2,000 people by 1963.
The park also continued to expand its footprint to 44 land parcels between 1911 and 1925–adding a few more parcels in the 1930s and ’50s. Ultimately, its 71-acre campus stretched between East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights.
One of the standout features of NELA Park is its unique architectural design. The campus encompasses a variety of buildings that showcase different architectural styles from Art Deco to Modernist influences. The layout of the campus is designed to foster collaboration and creativity with open spaces and gardens that encourage employees to engage with their surroundings.
The buildings are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing, with thoughtful landscaping that enhances the overall environment. This attention to detail creates an inspiring atmosphere for employees and visitors alike, making NELA Park a truly special place to work, innovate, and collaborate.
The business park also contained several features to appease employees including a decent cafeteria, a general library, a dispensary that provided dental, nursing, and medical care, a barber shop, a transportation office, ample garage parking, and a local bank branch. Nela Park also boasted a range of recreational facilities such as tennis courts, baseball fields, an in-ground swimming pool, bowling alleys, and even an auditorium. Given GE’s reputation as a leading innovator in electrical lighting research and development, coupled with NELA Park’s university campus feel, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Nela Park developed a reputation as a “University of Light.”
During the latter half of the 2010s, General Electric Corporation reorganized its business model and priorities, which included the divestiture of its lighting business. In 2020, Savant Systems, Inc. of Massachusetts acquired GE Lighting from General Electric, preserving its name and keeping its century-long lighting operations intact. Two years later, GE Lighting sold NELA Park to Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors who plans to consolidate its corporate operations in one building and attract other tenants to the remainder of the Georgian-style campus.
Even though NELA Park is a far different place than it was in the 20th century, it still has a rich legacy in lighting technology. And with the promise of an ongoing commitment to research and development, NELA Park stands as a testament to the power of creativity and collaboration.
Featured Image Courtesy of Crain’s Cleveland Business.
