What will it look like when it's done? Even at this late date, more research is needed before determining exactly what form the chandelier should take before being rehoisted 13 months from now. Renderings of proposals show something that looks little like the bejeweled crown that generations of Philadelphians have come to love.
"The visual change will be extraordinary," said John Trosino, the interior designer leading the project. "The basic structure will be the same, but people will be truly amazed at how delicate and refined it will look."
Like the fake organ pipes removed from the hall a few years ago, the Academy chandelier that audiences know today is not the one lit on the day the building opened in 1857. The restored version will seem newer in some aspects, with brighter crystal and cleaner brass.
But it will also emerge looking decades older, as historically inaccurate lighting affixed to it in the 1950s will be stripped away. The idea is to get the chandelier as close as possible to its original appearance without reinstalling the 240 gas jets that were its original source of light.
It is part of a larger, $1.2 million project to relight the Academy's ornate architectural details, such as the Mozart medallion over the stage and the mural in the dome.
While the chandelier is away in France, purely functional theatrical track lighting will help to illuminate the auditorium.
Only a few illustrations show the original appearance of the fixture, believed to have been built by the Philadelphia firm of Cornelius & Baker. Trosino says mid-19th-century marketing materials have been a more useful guide.
