Art preservationists say they’re outraged after a mural inside the old Verizon building in Boston was removed.

Verizon sold the building last year. As part of the sales agreement, it took down the illustration of men and women who toiled as telephone operators.

Tony Fusco, president of the Art Deco Society of Boston, said the mural is the most important mural of its kind in Boston.

He said it’s like stripping the murals out of Rockefeller Center in New York.

Dean Cornwell was commissioned to craft the mural in 1947. It took him three years to create the 160-foot long, 12-foot high artwork.

Verizon said the new owner, Commonwealth Ventures, wants to renovate the building’s interior.

The mural is now in storage, its future uncertain. (AP)