U.S. gives Havana embassy a facelift after years of neglect

When the U.S. embassy in Havana reopened last May to Cubans seeking visas after a nearly five-year hiatus, the once proud 1950s vintage building was in shambles.

Pieces of its stone facade were crumbling from top floors, threatening passersby. A rusty perimeter fence, decrepit and obsolete, wobbled with the trade winds. Hurricane Irma had damaged lower windows, a guard post, and granite facing. Even the ambassador's dramatic perch - a balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico - was deemed unsafe.

A $28 million renovation project now underway is a little-known...