CENTENNIAL BULB

 

Click the "Home of the Worlds Longest Burning Light Bulb!" image above to see the Bulb-Cam in action


Follow this link to
Our Most Requested Photos!

WEBSITE TRANSLATION

 

Home Facts Video Articles Celebrations Awards Arts Shelby Friends Contacts

Thank you to our
original Webmaster
 

Former Mayor Marchand's Bulb Message
 

A New Bulb Book!

Photo credit Doug Jorgensen of Livermore Independant
 

The Bulb Goes to the Fair!

 

Bulb Replicas At Last!

Visiting Hours:

Every day
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
    when on-duty personnel are available.    

See the Visting Hints page
for more information.

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Welcome to the homepage of the Centennial Bulb, the Longest burning Light Bulb in history. Now in its 120th year of illumination. For those of you coming here for the first time, feel free to explore the pages of our amazing little bulb, with pictures, stories, facts, and history.

For all you first time visitors, check out our Visting Hints page! Please read this if you are coming for the first time, as it should answer many of your questions. Also while you are here, please ask to see the "multi-bulb display" lit up, (you can see a 100 year old Shelby Bulb up close too).

2021
Martin Kykta writes an article about the light bulb titled, The Mystery of the Centennial Bulb: an Incandescent Light Bulb©. Martin is President of MAK Electro-Optics. He is a physicist with a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He has worked in the semiconductor, optics and display industry for more than 30 years. He has worked on LED, liquid crystal, CRT, FED and MEM technology and printed electronics. He also has worked on many patents and has written articles on display related technology. He is a member of OSA, SPIE and SID organizations.

2020
Fran Blanche posted a YouTube video titled "120 Year Old Shelby Light Bulb - Still Working!!", in November of 2020. You can view it here.

2017
In terms of bulb activities, it was a very quiet year. It had the normal amount of curious visitors, and a few tv crews drop by, but it's 116th year was just a slow warm glow.

2016
A new display case was finished below the bulb by the Firefighters at the station. The New Bulbcam, a Sony, was put up and has been sending out pictures twice as big, sharp, and clear! Thank you Don Peters.

2015
We Celebrated the One Million Hour Party! As in 2001, and 2011, the Centennial Light Bulb reached another milestone of 1,000,000 hours! Good times were had by all at Fire Station 6 in Livermore, CA with food, fun, and history in the making. Click 1 Million Hours Bulb to see a web page showing the day. Also click here Bulbcam page to see the party from the Bulb's perspective.

2014
At the beginning of 2014; Livermore has officially taken the Bulb under it's wing, and plans are under way to create a new display under the Bulb, and on the wall, a new look at the Bulbcam, and a re-invention of this website. Stay tuned for lots of changes.

2013
The Bulb is Still Alive! After being Off for over 10 hours on the morning of May 20, 2013, Retired Asst. Chief Tom Bramell called the Station Captain and bypassed the UPS generator, and it Worked! See some pictures of the Bulb off on the Bulbcam page.
To see the story by Juliette Goodrich, go to World's Longest Running Lightbulb Goes Out In Livermore.


Steve Bunn, former webmaster who established this website, and member of the Centinnial Bulb committee visited the North Fort Worth Historical Society museum in Fort Worth, Texas. He was able to see a younger sister bulb and visit with the NFWHS committee. You can see pictures of his visit here: Palace Bulb

At last an answer to the most often asked question about the Bulb! (Next to why is it still burning). The question being, how much did the Bulb cost when it was sold? You can find the answer by following this link to an advertisement page aquired of the Lockwood, Luetkemeyer, and Henry Co Catalog.

Christopher Leps directed a 45 minute documentary on the light bulb called, "Century of Light" available to watch at https://vimeo.com/113518437!!

Our intrepid photographer Dick Jones has been a major contributor to many of the photos on this website. He has just made his first book named Aerial Photography, and is in the process of making another based on his mothers poetry, soon to be released.

Juliett Goodrich has also released a new children's book, in 2012, named I Am Special Because I Smile, which is about the Special Olympics.

A new unique Shelby Light Bulb was found sealed in a wall of Adolph Chailett's home in Shelby, Ohio!!!
Please follow this link to Tom Clabaugh's page, A light from our distant past.
Or go to the articles page to read the Shelby Globe,
as donated by Tom Sutter, an old Shaggy Shelbian.


A few newer pages you might find of interest are:

Bulb Books!

by Nolan, Bramell, & Goodrich

LYNN OWENS MEMORIAL

Click to purchase the movie in English.

Click here to see behind the scenes of the movie and find it in other languages.

Brought to you by the Centennial Light Bulb Committee,
a partnership of:
Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department,
Livermore Heritage Guild,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories,
and Sandia National Laboratories.

To meet us, and see our quiet 112th celebration
click the thumbnail above.

Home | Facts | Photos | Articles | Party | Awards | Book | Friends | Timeline | Links | Contacts | Guest Book

For information on our city try these links.

 

Livermore Fire Dept. 1967

If you'd like to see the light bulb firsthand come to:
Fire Station #6
4550 East Ave.
Livermore, CA

Recommended viewing time:
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

For more info please contact us at:

centennialbulb@hotmail.com

Maintained by LP Firefighter Foundation