document: Edison 's direct current influenced `` Broadway '' show lighting During the early decades of the 20 th century , midtown Manhattan in New York City developed an extensive underground direct current -LRB- DC -RRB- power distribution system . This was a result of the original introduction of direct current by Thomas Edison 's pioneering Pearl Street Station in 1882 . The availability of DC power in the theater district , led to the perpetuation of an archaic form of stage lighting control through nearly three-quarters of the 20 th century . This control device was known as a `` resistance dimmer . '' It was essentially a series-connected rheostat , but it was wound with a special resistance `` taper '' so as to provide a uniform change in the apparent light output of typical incandescent lamps throughout the travel of its manually operated arm . The development and use of DC powered stage lighting is discussed in this article
doc_bio_tags: O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O
extractive_keyphrases: manhattan new york city theater district stage lighting control resistance dimmer apparent light output incandescent lamps dc powered stage lighting
abstractive_keyphrases: broadway show lighting underground direct current power distribution system thomas edison's pearl street station series-connected rheostat resistance taper