General Electric Research Laboratory

A National Historic Landmark. Built in 1900. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. 16 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1893.

From the record

“General Electric Research Laboratory was the first industrial research facility in the United States. Established in 1900, the lab was home to the early technological breakthroughs of General Electric and created a research and development environment that set the standard for industrial innovation for years to come.”
Wikipedia article General Electric Research Laboratory, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 87 National Register listings published here for Schenectady County · listed in 1975 · category: Building · built in 1900 · a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. General Electric main plant, Schenectady, 12308
When was it listed? May 1975
Category. building
City. Schenectady city
When was it built? 1900
National Register reference number. 75001227 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

669 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 669 fires within 5 miles of General Electric Research Laboratory between 1995 and 2020, burning about 424 acres in total. 39 started naturally. 136 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	344
Arson/incendiarism	136
Smoking	58
Natural	39
Debris and open burning	35
Misuse of fire by a minor	26
Equipment and vehicle use	18
Power generation/transmission/distribution	9
Recreation and ceremony	3
Other causes	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2010	Smoking	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
8 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
8 September 2003	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
7 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	NA
7 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
7 September 2010	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
7 September 2003	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
6 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A

Every fire recorded in Schenectady County

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of General Electric Research Laboratory: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Niskayuna Clay Pit	Clay	Producer
Niskayuna Clay Pit	Clay	Past Producer
Scotia Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Scotia Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Vley Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Vley Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Schenectady County

Storms near this property

60 of 89 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Schenectady, the town this property stands in, in 89 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 47 thunderstorm wind, 17 flash flood, 15 hail, 5 flood. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2007	Lightning	Schenectady	2 hurt	Two females, ages 18 and 16, were standing under a tree in Schenectady when lightning struck the tree, injuring both females. The 18 year old female was airlifted to Albany Medical Center for burns to her feet, ankles, legs, stomach, and chest, and may have also had internal injuries, while the 16 year old female suffered superficial wounds to her right arm.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	1 hurt	A large tree was downed on Interstate 890 just west of Exit 7, hitting a moving SUV, trapping and injuring the driver who was taken to a hospital for treatment.
July 2008	Flash Flood	Schenectady	$2,000,000	Flash flooding resulted in numerous road closures across Schenectady County during the late afternoon and evening hours.\|\|Several roads were also washed out, including, but not limited to, State Route 160 and culverts near the New York State Thruway overpass in Pattersonville, Crawford Road, North Kelly Road, and the bridge at Kelly Station Road and Route 7.\|\|Additional damage occurred to a section of Route 5S near Rotterdam Junction.\|\|In addition, Interstate 90, the New York State Thruway, was closed between exits 26 and 27 due to flooding, with several vehicles disabled in the flood waters.\|\|Other roads that were closed included, but were not limited to, Guilderland Road at Cleveland Road, Route 147 between Charlton Road and West Glenville Road, Junction Road, Creek Road and Shun Pike Road near Esperance.\|\|High water also scoured out a railroad embankment and the tracks that a train was on, stranding the train until the track could be repaired.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$203,000	A National Weather Service meteorologist surveyed thunderstorm wind damage in the Upper Union Street neighborhood of Schenectady and determined a microburst occurred during a thunderstorm. Numerous large silver maple trees and large tree limbs were downed along DeCamp Avenue, Wright Avenue, Hampton Avenue, Eastern Parkway and Union Street. These trees and tree limbs downed power lines and damaged some homes and cars as well. Trees were also downed near the Rose Garden in Central Park as well.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$175,000	no account filed
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$110,000	no account filed
May 2015	Lightning	Schenectady	$75,000	A lightning strike caused a house to catch fire on Eastern Avenue in Schenectady. The home's attic was damaged by fire and smoke and water damage occurred throughout the house.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$50,000	no account filed
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$25,000	no account filed
September 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$17,000	no account filed
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$15,000	no account filed
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$12,000	no account filed
June 2000	Hail	Schenectady	$10,000	no account filed
January 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$10,000	no account filed
July 2007	Flash Flood	Schenectady	$5,000	Heavy rain from repeated clusters of thunderstorms led to flash flooding in portions of Schenectady. This flooding led to several cars being stranded within rapid rises of water, along with ensuing water rescues. \|\|Weaver Street in Schenectady was particularly hard hit.
April 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$5,000	no account filed
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$5,000	no account filed
July 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$5,000	no account filed
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$4,000	no account filed
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$2,000	Trees and power lines were downed onto a house in the town of Schenectady.
September 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$2,000	no account filed
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	$1,000	no account filed
September 2022	Flood	Schenectady	-	Numerous reports of urban and poor drainage flooding on Weaver Street, Edison Avenue, and Broadway.
September 2022	Flood	Schenectady	-	Minor Street flooding reported in Schenectady on Broadway and Union Street.
May 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A tree was downed on wires due to wind from a gust front well ahead of thunderstorms.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Trees and wires were downed in Schenectady. There was also minor street flooding.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A large tree fell near GE Plot.
October 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Trees were downed on a house and power lines in the town of Schenectady.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Multiple trees snapped, blocking Ardsley Road.
August 2019	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	Flash flooding was reported at the intersection of Parkwood Blvd and Rugby Rd.
August 2019	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	Street flooding was reported in the city of Schenectady.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Several large tree limbs were down on West Alley in the city of Schenectady.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A 72-year old sign atop a restaurant was destroyed by a fallen tree on Erie Boulevard in Schenectady. Erie Boulevard was also closed between Union Street and Nott Street due to a downed tree.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Half of a large tree was downed on Van Dyke Avenue between Laura Street and Cleveland Avenue.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Three large trees were downed at a residence on Oaklawn Avenue in Rotterdam. One brought down a front porch roof, one knocked the chimney off the roof and damaged the kitchen, and one brought down lines and dented a car.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A tree was downed in front of a house, damaging an awning on Garner Road.
August 2018	Heavy Rain	Schenectady	-	Heavy rainfall of 1.32 inches fell in a short period of time.
August 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Several trees were downed on McClellan Street and Brandywine Ave. A telephone pole was knocked down onto an unoccupied car.
August 2016	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	The intersection of Broadway and Edison Avenue in Schenectady was closed due to flash flooding.
April 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A tree was downed at the Central Park Rose Garden in Schenectady due to thunderstorm winds.
April 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A tree was downed on Elbert Street in Schenectady as a result of thunderstorm winds.
April 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Trees were downed due to thunderstorm winds near the Basketball Courts in Central Park in Schenectady.
July 2016	Hail	Schenectady	-	Nickel size hail was reported during a thunderstorm on Altamont Avenue in Rotterdam.
July 2016	Hail	Schenectady	-	Quarter size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in downtown Schenectady.
July 2016	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	One foot of water was located along State Street in Schenectady between Robinson Street and James Street due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A large tree was uprooted by thunderstorm winds at the corner of Van Curler Avenue and Rugby Road in Schenectady. The fallen tree also downed power lines and damaged a car as well.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A tree was reported down at the intersection of Union Street and Park Ave in Schenectady due to thunderstorm winds.
August 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A traffic light pole was bent as a result of thunderstorm winds in Schenectady.
July 2014	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	Thunderstorm heavy rainfall led to flash flooding in Schenectady. The two right hand eastbound lanes of Interstate 890 between Exits 5 and 6 had to be closed due to high water.
July 2013	Heavy Rain	Schenectady	-	A retired NWS Employee reported minor street flooding along State Street in Schenectady.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	A member of the public reported through Twitter that thunderstorm winds toppled a large tree in Schenectady on State Street. A National Weather Service employee found additional wind damage along Balltown Road near Consaul Road as well.
May 2013	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	The public via Facebook reported flash flooding along Hampton Avenue in Schenectady from heavy rainfall from showers and thunderstorms.
May 2013	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	A trained spotter reported flash flooding at the intersection of Brandywine Avenue and Union Street in Schenectady from showers and thunderstorms.
May 2013	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	A meteorologist reported flash flooding along Crane Street in Schenectady. Water was two to three feet deep and water rescues were needed to remove people from the flooding.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Trees and wires were reported down due to thunderstorm winds on McClellan and Bradley streets in Schenectady. Newspaper media also reported that the downed trees forced police to shut down a portion of McClellan Street for cleanup.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Trees were reported down in Schenectady due to thunderstorm winds.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Part of a large maple tree was reported downed by strong thunderstorm winds on Grand Boulevard in Niskayuna.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Schenectady	-	Numerous tree limbs reported down due to strong thunderstorm winds in Central Park in Schenectady.
June 2011	Hail	Schenectady	-	Quarter size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in Schenectady.
December 2010	Flash Flood	Schenectady	-	A water rescue from a car was reported on Crane Street in Schenectady due to flash flooding.

Every storm recorded in Schenectady County

Maps showing this location

16 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1893 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500
1895 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500
1898 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500 - 8 printings
1930 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500 - 5 printings
1947 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500 - 2 printings
1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1948 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500
1949 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500
1954 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:24000 - 4 printings
1954 USGS Schenectady quadrangle1:62500
1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
1986 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000
1989 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
General Electric Realty Plot	0.3 miles	1980
First Unitarian Society Church	0.3 miles	2014
Irving Langmuir House	0.4 miles	1976
Franklin School	0.4 miles	1983
Elmer Avenue School	0.7 miles	2022
Nott Memorial Hall	0.8 miles	1972

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 75001227 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Schenectady County	All 87 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.