upgrades. In the late 1970s, Mary Beams - an artist at Harvard's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts - painted 19 murals which were placed along the wall behind the Brattle Loop. Although intended to be temporary, they received protective covers in the late 1980s and remained in good condition until the 2014 closure. On February 11, 1983, the Green Line E branch was shut down by snow for several days; a Government Center-Lechmere shuttle ran in its stead - the first use of the Brattle Loop in three decades. Even after the E branch resumed operations several days later, the shuttle service ran until June 21, 1997. Since, the loop was used only for temporary car storage, largely during events at Boston Garden (later TD Garden) and after the morning peak. Renovation In 1990, the state agreed to a number of transit expansion and renovation projects to settle a lawsuit from the Conservation Law Foundation over the environmental impacts of the Big Dig. Due to its cost, complexity, and the need to completely shut down a major transfer station, Government Center was the last of 80 key stations to be upgraded for accessibility. Original plans in the 1990s called for the project to add two new entrances to the station, using the former west entrance to the Blue Line level and the former Brattle Loop entrance to the Green Line level. The Blue Line entrance would be close to Bowdoin station, allowing it to be closed. The additional Green Line entrance was cut during preliminary design, but the Blue Line entrance was kept; until at least 2011, the MBTA still planned to close Bowdoin after Government Center was renovated. However, by 2013, the MBTA decided not to construct the planned west entrance at Government Center, and to instead build only a less-expensive emergency exit. Site preparation began in mid-2013, and the main construction contract was awarded to Barletta Heavy Division in July 2013. On March 22, 2014, Government Center station closed for two years for the reconstruction, which included new elevators, station entrance and lobbies, emergency exit-only structure on Cambridge Street between Court and Sudbury Street, escalators, LED signage, expanded fare collection area, upgraded back-up electrical power supply, improved interior finishes, station lighting, mechanical systems, and public address system. The abandoned side platform was almost completely tiled over. Additional vendor retail space was provided on both Green Line and