Thomas Edison produced the first corporate lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey. There, he hired several workers to aid him in his inventions, each keeping a journal to record tests performed throughout the day. Edison and his workers sometimes spent up to fifteen or sixteen hours in one day trying to develop new inventions. Menlo Park seemed to be a place of mass-invention rather than mass-production. Despite the long hours put in by each and every one of Edison's workmen, playtime was also incorporated in to their work day. There was an organ in the lab so several workers could go and have a good time; Edison realized that working too long would lead to less productivity than working with a few breaks here-and-there.

Menlo Park sets a prime example to be followed by other inventors. The lab, itself, was designed perfectly by Edison to include desks for each member, and a quiet section in the corner for himself. In Menlo Park, Edison was able to "get lost" in his inventing, and spend hours upon hours developing new ideas without even realizing it!

References:
1) http://www.classbrain.com/artholiday/publish/article_19.shtml