in 1996, richard lyons, a carpenter for the general services administration, was rep to go prepare the building for demolition when he discovered this office sign in the attic. american history tv visited the building to learn about the missing soldier's office and to hear the story of richard lyons who worked alone for months to save the building from demolition. >> this is the original staircase that clara used that has never been renovated or changed much at all , just a few repairs done to it. so when you walk up the staircase and put your hand on the banister, you're walking in clara barton's foot steps. she did this for about eight years it during the civil war era and just after when she operated a missing soldier's office in this space and eventually she ended up leaving because her health became so poor and she was so exhausted from the work she had done during the war that she couldn't find these three sets of stairs anymore. so she ended up moving out late in december of 1868. and that's pretty much when she closed down her operations here in washington. one of the neat thin