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When NYC Was Electrified: The Hudson-Fulton Celebration
The Hudson-Fulton Celebration began more than 100 years ago. Starting on September 25, 1909, over a million New Yorkers and tourists enthusiastically joined in the two-week festivities to commemorate the tricentennial of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the river that now bears his name and the centennial of Robert Fulton’s invention of the steamboat.
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New York City Hall
An exclusive committee consisting of the United States’ most elite businessmen—including J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie—spent four years planning the celebration. Together, they designed pavilions and organized fêtes and parades for the occasion.
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Thomas Cusack Co. Building
The event lauded New York as a global city at the heart of American progress and at the center of the nation’s emerging identity as a world power.
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Singer Building
Among the impressive parades and parties across the five boroughs was a historic flyover enjoyed by over a million onlookers. Wilbur Wright of the famed Wright brothers successfully completed a 20-mile flight over the city on October 4.
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Washington Square Arch
During the festivities, many parts of the city were illuminated for the first time—500,000 light bulbs lit up New York’s most famous monuments. The Statue of Liberty, Grant’s Tomb, and the Washington Arch were cast in an electrified glow.
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Plaza Hotel
Night view illuminated for the Hudson-Fulton celebration, 1909.
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Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street
Columns of the court of honor on Fifth Avenue erected for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration, New York City, 1909.
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Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street
Hudson-Fulton celebration, Court of Honor, New York City, night illuminations, September 26, 1909.
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