OMAHA — Launching this week is the final phase of a $1.6 million restoration of art deco ceilings at downtown Omaha’s Durham Museum housed in the historic Union Station.

Boosted by a grant from the Nebraska Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery & Investment Act, the project was interrupted by the pandemic. It was restarted later in a different section of the museum, and now the crew of New York-based EverGreene Architectural Arts has returned for the final stretch.

The latest phase takes place in the West End Corridor and the Suzanne and Walter Scott Great Hall. Work is expected to be wrapped up by June. The museum is to remain open during the effort, though some entrances and walkways will change during that time.

Funding for the art deco interior revitalization project came from private community sources and a $625,000 shovel-ready grant through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, a Durham spokeswoman said.

A separate funding project recently restored the exterior of the former train station.

Union Station, built in 1931, served as a train station for 40 years and as a museum thereafter, housing exhibits that preserve Omaha’s history. In late 2016, the U.S. Department of Interior formally designated Union Station a national historic landmark, which heightened attention to protecting the structure.

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