Omaha’s Durham Museum is undergoing a $1.6 million restoration of the ceiling in the iconic Union Station.The building was named a national historic landmark in 2016.“We're one of the most pristine examples of Art Deco architecture in the nation. And so, we just feel like it is our privilege and our obligation to make sure that we're preserving the building and preserving that history for our community,” said Kim Henze.Henze is the Director of Museum Operations for the Durham Museum, and she said the current restoration is necessary to keep up with the ravages of time on the old building along 10th street.The 92-year-old station has suffered water damage and other typical blemishes over time.Currently, workers are restoring the ceiling in the Suzanne and Walter Scott Great Hall.KETV NewsWatch 7 got an up-close look at the detailing, climbing five-flights of scaffolding to see intricate work.“Basically, we had to pretty much paint all of the surfaces up here,” Marc Sova told me.Sova and Todd Stubbs are two of the workers with Evergreene Architectural Arts. They specialize in the paint of historical restorations.“Right now, we're applying what's called size, think of it as a really slow-drying varnish,” Sova explained as they worked on large, decoratively covered grills.They applied aluminum leaf off paper.“And we just kind of press it up into the creases and it sticks wherever the size is,” said Stubbs as he worked.The work in the Great Hall is just the latest in a series of ceiling restorations at Union Station.They began last year in the Swanson Gallery on the east side of the building.They targeted the chandeliers and the grills over the lights.Henze said they went in thinking they would just clean off the soot from 90-plus years of being a railroad station, but then they decided they needed to re-leaf them.“They used aluminum leaf and so they really shined after that,” Henze said, “And then we made the decision then to expand the scope in the Great Hall to do the same thing.”But first, they wrapped up work in the west wing of the building, closest to 10th street.They did a paint analysis on parts of the ceiling.“And they did find that one area there was a color change,” Henze explained, “So we went from a light green to a brown in this area.”Henze said they hope to complete restorations by the end of May, but she knows there will always be more work to do.She also knows that preserving this national treasure means the ceiling always gets top billing.“People walk in and the first thing they do almost always look up and so I think they're already in awe of the ceilings,” Henze said, “But after this restoration work, I think it's just going to be even more grand.”To see more about the restoration work and work on other projects downtown, watch KETV Newswatch 7’s Chronicle Sunday at 10 a.m.Click here for more information about the Durham Museum.