For much of the five years it took to restore the historic New Orleans Lakefront Airport, the only occupants with air conditioning in the dank, mold-filled wreck left by Hurricane Katrina were a half dozen murals that had, until recently, been largely forgotten by all but a few art aficionados and historians.
Architects, who discovered the historical significance of the paintings while researching their restoration project, had them enclosed in small, climate-controlled rooms to protect them from the elements as workers toiled away in the often swamp-like conditions.
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