Although not generally known for its ground-floor views, the Empire State Building—which recently topped an AIA poll of Americans’ favorite buildings—may soon give visitors a reason to linger at street level. The lobby of this Art Deco skyscraper, designed by William Lamb and completed in 1931, is being restored.

A plastic-panel dropped ceiling in the lobby, added in the 1960s, is being removed. In its place will go a re-creation of the original ceiling, a gold-leaf-on-canvas abstraction of planets and stars. A re-creation, rather than a restoration, is necessary because removing the white paint slapped over the original art was deemed too costly and difficult, explains Richard Metsky, an architect with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners, which is handling the renovation. Crews will stretch a new canvas over the old one, preserving it in case future generations ever develop a more cost-effective restoration method. The work will be completed as part of a $400 million, full-building renovation that includes both interior upgrades and the installation of 6,500 replacement windows.