Dear Natalya,
We are located in a former county courthouse that was opened in 1903.  We chose to restore one of the original courtrooms to its 1903 appearance.  We hired a painting conservator to remove overpaint to determine what the original color was and it turned out to be a dark-rich green.  Subsequent investigations have determined that another courtroom was red and a third- blue.
Most of the interior of the building was painted a beige color sometime in the 30s.  We speculate that this may have been one of the make work projects of the WPA era.
Our current lobbies are a pinkish beige color.  You should take into consideration what kind of exhibits you may want and choose a paint color to compliment these exhibits.  You may not want what was the original color.  If you plan on hanging paintings or portraits on the walls- a dark terra-cotta may not be appropriate.
We are constantly balancing the need to preserve a historic structure vs. using the building as an effective museum.  Compromises are part of our daily life in a historic courthouse/ museum.
If I can provide more specific advice, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
David Ryan
Registrar
Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum
www.cspm.org

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