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It was after midnight on a June evening in 2017 when the discovery was made. Union Station’s entry vestibule — an ode to Mission Moderne
architecture, with its Spanish tile floor and draping Art Deco chandeliers — was virtually deserted. A restoration cleaning
crew was wiping down the tarnished ceiling panels, dim, brownish squares that hadn’t been cleaned in nearly 80 years and were so caked with
tobacco tar and dirt
One of the two workers, perched on a boom lift
about
40 feet high, gently wiped a section of the ceiling with cleaning solution, causing a swath of bright orange to appear. Repeated cleaning soon revealed bits of yellow and peach shining through. Below the darkened surface, there was a vibrant painting, original to the architecture, bearing a floral pattern.