Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building, Atlanta. Photo: Rebecca Breyer

In a hopeful sign during the coronavirus pandemic, a request for bids went out to replace wallpaper at the shuttered U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta.

The court wants to replace some of the 35-year-old wall coverings in the century-old federal courthouse.

"The existing wallcovering in the stairwells and elevator lobbies of the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building were installed in approximately 1985. They are discolored, separated at the seams, and show wear," said the request issued Tuesday.

Judiciary officials are telling federal courts to prepare for reopening but to take their lead from local authorities as they gradually move to hold more in-person proceedings.

In guidelines provided to federal courts Monday, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts left it up to each jurisdiction to determine how best to proceed in the reopening process, just as courts also made individual decisions to move to remote work as the pandemic took hold across the country.

While Georgia is pushing ahead with service sector business reopenings despite criticism from President Donald Trump, Florida is taking a slow approach. South Florida is a hotspot with more than a third of the state's COVID-19 cases. Florida ranks eighth nationally for total cases and 18th per capita.

Trials and other nonessential hearings South Florida federal courts have been postponed until July 6, but remote operations are encouraged.

Contractors going to work on federal court wallpaper bids will be working in a landmark.

"James Knox Taylor, supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, designed the building, which was completed in 1910 and deemed by the media to be 'a great step forward in the scheme of beautifying Atlanta,' " according to a history on the U.S. General Services Administration website.

The building was renamed in 1989 to honor Elbert Parr Tuttle, "a renowned judge" and decorated World War II veteran. President Dwight Eisenhower, the commanding general of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, appointed Tuttle to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1954. The Eleventh Circuit spun off from the Fifth in 1981.

The granite building covering a city block was listed in the National Register of Historic Places twice — on its own in 1974 and again in 1984 as a contributing presence in the Fairlie Poplar National Register Historic District, according to the GSA history.

The mission of the lowest "technically acceptable" bidder will be to "remove the existing wallcovering and install new breathable wallcovering in the stairwells and elevator lobbies on both sides" of the building's first, second, and third floors, the request said.

Deadline for the bids is 4 p.m. May 8. The work must be completed within six weeks. Proposals are to be sent to contracting officer Stan Peters by email to [email protected].

A word of advice to the winning contractors: You can get past security with paper, but you might want to leave your cellphone in the truck without a special dispensation.