One of the (few) great things about working in an 80 year old building is putting yourself in the heads of people for whom the things they did were clever and novel.

Like using screws to hold in light fixture covers. Once, mass thread cutting was advanced technology.

Or using hallways to carry return air, so that when one uses a hallway one is walking through what everyone else has exhaled.

If someone did either of these today that person should never be allowed to design or install anything ever again. In the 20s, it was brilliant.