"State Department types were taken aback last week to find that a longtime diplomatic photo exhibit along a busy corridor to the cafeteria had been taken down. The two dozen mostly grainy black and white shots were a historic progression of great diplomatic moments, sources recalled."

It's part of an effort to "spruce up the building . . . liven up the halls," one official said. There are other similar photos on other floors, we were told. The old photos are to be re-hung in that other corridor once it's painted.