Recreating the World’s First Electrified Christmas Tree in Murray Hill

Updated on January 11, 2026
by Jon
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The Murray Hill neighborhood will welcome a dazzling tribute to one of New York City’s most remarkable yet little-known holiday innovations—the world’s first Christmas tree lit with electric lights.

Set to be installed on Park Avenue and 38th Street, the display will replicate the original 1882 creation by Edward H. Johnson, a close associate of Thomas Edison and Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company. Johnson’s tree—regarded as the first-ever Christmas tree illuminated by electricity—stood six feet tall and was hand-wired with 120 red, white, and blue walnut-sized bulbs. It revolved on a motorized base powered by a small Edison dynamo and featured a mechanism that rotated the tree while cycling through vibrant color combinations. Johnson’s invention was a marvel of its time and became a symbol of innovation and holiday wonder.

A live 6–7 foot tree would be set atop a newly fabricated rotating base powered by a “dynamo” motor—reminiscent of the 19th-century design and plugged into a standard outlet
120 lights: “would glow in varying sets—white, red and white, yellow and white—as the tree slowly turned, creating an awe-inspiring effect for children and adults alike”

Inspired by Johnson’s ingenuity, this modern-day installation will feature a live 6–7 foot tree set atop a newly fabricated rotating base powered by a “dynamo” motor—reminiscent of the 19th-century design. Edison-style replica bulbs will glow in rotating color patterns, reflecting the charm and nostalgia of the original invention. Each year, a new real tree will be brought in, maintaining the authenticity of Johnson’s annual holiday tradition.

Historical accounts—including articles from The New York Times and Electrical World—describe Johnson’s tree as a dazzling spectacle. The tree’s 120 lights would glow in varying sets—white, red and white, yellow and white—as the tree slowly turned, creating an awe-inspiring effect for children and adults alike. At the time, it was an intimate, private display in Johnson’s parlor at 139 East 36th Street—just steps away from today’s installation site in Murray Hill.

According to records from the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Johnson’s experiments with electric Christmas lights in the early 1880s marked a turning point in domestic electrification. By 1883, he had expanded his display to a 45-foot-high tree at the Foreign Exhibition in Boston. In 1884, he powered his home tree using a gasoline engine connected to a basement dynamo, which generated a current for 120 brilliantly colored lights on a rotating tree.

This year’s Park Avenue tribute will honor Johnson’s pioneering spirit and bring his vision to the streets of New York City. The installation serves as both a festive attraction and a nod to the city’s deep legacy of innovation. A collaborative effort between local historians, community leaders, and technology enthusiasts, the project revives a forgotten chapter of holiday history—where engineering met enchantment, and the electric age lit up Christmas for the very first time.

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New York Times picture of the 1st tree from 1882.

“The tree was lighted by electricity and children never beheld a brighter tree or one more highly colored than the children of Mr. Johnson when the current was turned and the tree began to revolve.

“It stood about six feet high, in an upper room, and dazzled persons entering the room. There were 120 lights on the tree, with globes of different colors, while the light tinsel work and unusual adornment of Christmas trees appeared to their best advantage in illuminating the tree.

“The set of lights were turned off and on at regular intervals as the tree turned around. The first combination was of pure white light then as the revolving tree tree severed the connection of the current that supplied it and made connection with the second set, red and white lights appeared. Then came yellow and white and other colors.”