One if by Land, LED if by Sea...

Paul Revere's famous church stops living in the past, installs eco- friendly light bulbs
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 3, 2008 8:30 PM CST
One if by Land, LED if by Sea...
Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, light up the ceiling vaulting inside the Old North Church, Friday, Feb. 29, 2008 in Boston. The Old North Church has gone high-tech, installing LEDs to illuminate ceiling vaulting inside the church where two lanterns were hung the night of April 18, 1775. (AP Photo/Lisa...   (Associated Press)

The green bulbs are coming, the green bulbs are coming! That’s the appropriate contemporary cry for a Paul Revere impersonator, who might still be able to use the Old North Church’s lanterns to warn of a British invasion—but would have to settle for LEDs. The Boston landmark has ditched incandescents to light its ceiling vaults, going green with efficient bulbs that last 25 times as long, the AP reports.

The historic “One if by land, and two if by sea” site draws half a million visitors each year; the church’s custodian dismissed the idea that the modern luminescence was anachronistic for a Revolutionary era structure, saying “What we’ve added is light, and beauty.” Also, the eco-friendly lights are hidden by molding—and thus wouldn’t interfere with a history buff’s desire to be taken back in time inside the church. (More LEDs stories.)

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