Battle Hall, the University of Texas at Austin's first library built for that purpose, is open again after a restoration. The building was designed by Cass Gilbert and completed in 1912. The American Institute of Architects has named it one of America's Top 150 Favorite Works of Architecture.
Over the years, the paint colors had changed, and the high ceilings on the ground floor were lowered with acoustic tile when air conditioning was added. The project also addressed accessibility and electrical wiring. Contractors restored the ironwork balconies, light sconces, windows and doors.
When workers scraped down to the original layer of paint on the east double doors, they found pale green, not the pale blue the doors had shown in recent years. The color is known as verdigris. The preservation team also found 1910 paint company pamphlets that discussed how wall colors affect people in schools.