EDITION 30 // 2017_2018

E X P E R I E N C E : H O T E L 92 // T O W E R R E V U E Geschichte der über hundert Jahre alten Lampen erhalten geblieben. Übrigens: Wenn Sie durch die Gänge der Mezzanine gehen oder die Etagentreppen des Hauptbaus benutzen, um von einem Geschoss in das andere zu gelangen, können Sie weitere Originallampen mit der schwungvollen Spiralform aus der Pionierzeit des Palace von 1896 bis 1912 entdecken. Im Gang oberhalb der Concierge-Loge oder im Gang zur zweiten Etage hängen beispielsweise die verschnörkelten Metalllampen, die um 1900 ursprünglich in der Halle platziert wa- ren und die man auf alten Bildern sieht. // e In the earliest guest houses in the history of the hotel industry, guests spent most of their time together in one room. This was typically a large, cosy kitchen in which sufficient light was provided by the open fire and candles. When guests went to their room, the landlord gave them a candlestick with a lit candle, which was billed for at the end of their stay. Back then, fire was a constant concern. Initial progress was achieved with the advent of gas: hoteliers installed gas pipes in their hotels and were able to decorate large areas with gas lights. It was lighter and far easier to see. But unfortunately, the gas light gave faces a green hue, which was rather unflattering for women in particular. And there was still a risk of fire. It was only following electrification that a fireproof solution could be found. From this point, guests were also no longer billed for candles. But electricity was not cheap and the hotelier had to budget carefully in order to be able to illuminate long corridors and large halls; they were not especially bright. W H E N T H E N E W L A M P S A R R I V E D . . . As you can see in the first photos on the left, there were very few lamps in the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel when it opened in 1896. Follo- wing the death of Caspar Badrutt, the hotel’s founder, his son Hans equipped the function rooms with larger lamps in 1904. These ser- ved as light sources until 1924. It was then that his son, also named Hans, had lights installed in the Embassy ballroom in the former dining hall. He used the old lamps from 1904 for this new ballroom. Because these lamps had become a little old-fashioned, however, he had them mounted upside down and fitted with spherical glass lampshades. If you look at these lamps up close, you notice that the wall shield and plant are upside down. Thanks to this repurposing, the history of these more than 100-year-old lamps has been retained. Incidentally, if you pass through the corridors of the mezzanine floor or use the stairways in the main building in order to move from one floor to the next, you can discover more original lamps with a sweeping spiral shape from the pioneering era of the Palace from 1896 to 1912. In the passageway above the concierge’s lodge and the passageway to the second floor hang the ornate metal lamps that were originally placed in the lobby in around 1900 and which can be seen in old photos. // Die Lichtkugel mit der verschnörkelten Halterung stammt aus der Pionierzeit. Die Lampe rechts wurde 1924 umfunktioniert, ihr florales Dekor steht auf dem Kopf ............ The spherical light with the ornate mounting is from the pioneering era of the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel. The lamp on the left was repur- posed in 1924 – the floral decoration is upside down