Gas-Electric "Gasolier"  (click to enlarge)           Electric gas lamp igniter (click to enlarge)

 The first lighting retrofit of the house was to add gas light. The second may have been to add electric lights to complement the gas lights (they coexisted for years). The ceiling lamp in the dining room has four conventional light bulbs and four gas lamps in a single fixture but is not original to the house.

We can imagine the conversation between a turn-of-the-century owner of the house and his prospective lighting contractor who was familiar with installing gas illumination but not new-fangled electric lights:

"I don't figger how them 'lectrons gonna move through them dinky little pipes – there ain't even no hole through them at all! "

The electrical system was upgraded at least twice not including the dimmers controlled by low-voltage wiring as described on this web site.

One remaining home automation challenge is to re-install the electric igniters for the gas lamps.