In 1944 the WALKER ART CENTER had its face lifted, streamlined and noticed by the thousands who traveled up and down Lowry Hill. The building’s architectural appearance, finally oriented to its North American environment, drew praise and acclaim from as far away as Manitoba. Critics noted that the removal of the Walker’s pseudo. Moorish mask helped to naturalize the appearance of the city’s great western gate. Turnstile evidence at the museum indicated the public, by and large, approved of the change. Attendance is said to have doubled in the years after the frozen wedding cake of the former incarnation gave way to the simple, sweeping, hospitable lines of the new front. About 25 years after the new facade went up the old building was torn down and construction of the a new Walker Art Center began.
