god is in the details

i've always liked rhodes hall (1902-1904), from the first time i saw it in the early 1960s when it was still the state archives building --- an intense few years 1986-1995 working there, directing restoration of the house --- the best part of that was rehabilitating the original electrical lighting system, which includes over 300 fixtures --- 

the georgia trust's goal for the current round of projects is to make the house "green and sustainable", or something --- as far as i know, all they did with the electrical system this time was re-lamp with frosted energy-efficient (halogen?!) bulbs that bear little resemblance to the original --- far far too bright, and nothing like the mellow light of early clear-glass, carbon-filament bulbs or of the clear, low-watt  bulbs we used in the restored system --- they don't come close to accurately recreating the original lighting, which is too bad ---