From top, the new pendant lights brighten the Hall of Associates; the hall with the original fixtures, before the 1960s; new valances accentuate the shields along the ceiling’s edge.

Seeing the Ath in a new light

Recent guests at Caltech’s Athenaeum have had new light shed on their enjoyment of the faculty club’s elegant interior.

Lighting fixtures in the Hall of Associates have been replaced with ones that, in addition to being brighter, more closely resemble the original lights installed when the club was built. The main dining room fixtures also have been revamped, with a new look and increased lighting capacity, says Romy Wyllie, the interior designer for the Athenaeum and a cofounder of the Caltech Architectural Tour Service.

According to Wyllie, the upgrade began several years ago when the Athenaeum’s Design Review Committee noted that the lighting in the Hall of Associates was “not adequate for meetings, dining, even reading a menu.” Additionally, ornate candelabra lights with shades—which Wyllie deems “too busy” and “not appropriate” for the room’s decor—had replaced the original lighting fixtures sometime in the late 1960s.

While doing research for her book Caltech’s Architectural Heritage: From Spanish Tile to Modern Stone, Wyllie came across a photo of the hall with the original light fixtures, and thought it would be ideal to be able to recapture the room’s intended style and feel. She worked with Frank Gerardo, a consultant at Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design, who conceived new hanging fixtures that resemble the simple, pendantlike originals.
“The new fixtures are a little larger than the original ones and more in scale with the volume of the room,” Wyllie says. They also can accommodate compact fluorescent bulbs, providing more light at a lower cost. The T. A. Greene Company, which had designed the lighting for Caltech’s chemistry library, manufactured the lamps, and also added small tube lights hidden behind valances to illuminate the historic shields along the ceiling’s perimeter.

Additionally, the main dining room candelabras were cleaned and rewired and their shades were removed, enabling the fixtures to handle higher-wattage bulbs and to emit more light overall. With new programmable dimmer systems in both the dining room and the Hall of Associates, the brightness can be adjusted as needed.

“This was really a team effort,” says Wyllie. In addition to Gerardo and T. A. Greene, she worked with Facilities Management’s Greg Norden, who supervised the project; Jorge Alvarado of the Athenaeum; and Mike Anchondo and members of Caltech’s electrical shop, who performed the installation and electrical work.

Wyllie is pleased with the results. “We were able to use the latest in lighting technology to make the rooms more functional, yet adaptable for romantic dining or a wedding party. At the same time, we’re retaining the architectural integrity of the space, and in fact bringing back some of the historical intent.”
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