Careful work restores heavily damaged mural at Evanston, Ill., school

Leaks in the roof at Oakton Elementary School in Evanston, Ill., several years ago seriously damaged the decades-old murals that had been painted by unknown artists. Huge chunks of the paintings that told the story of Charlemagne, the medieval king who conquered Rome, had flaked away, exposing the brick underneath. Six months ago, what was left was grimy and crumbling. Today, the knights carry their shields with coats of arms past castles in the Italian countryside exactly as they had when artists painted them in the 1930s. A casual visitor to the auditorium would never know that much of the prized mural had slid to the floor. The restoration is a tale of perseverance, foresight, and use of meticulous techniques that began more than a decade ago

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