City Hall clock to be repaired

posted on 11/7/2023

The clock that keeps the time on the City Hall clock tower stopped last week due to a faulty motor. A specialty clock repair person who does maintenance on the clock was notified, and he is scheduled to be onsite this week to determine if the motor, which is no longer manufactured, can be repaired.

The E. Howard & Co. clock, made in Boston, is original to the 1935 City Hall building. It’s located within the clock tower that, by the use of gears, moves the hands on the four exterior clock faces that keep the time. Originally, the clockwork mechanism was driven by weights but was later upgraded to utilize an electric motor believed to have occurred in the 1940s or 1950s. The Bodine synchronous electric motor last seized up in 2013. David Graf of Tower Clock Repair & Restoration, the clock repair specialist, was able to have the repairs made to the obsolete motor along with other clockwork maintenance.

The clock itself was not part of the clock tower restoration project last year except for installing an electrical outlet to plug in the clock’s electric motor. That project included removing the building antenna, repairing and restoring the gold leaf dome, copper roofing, metal sheeting and exterior clock faces.

For more information, contact Community Services at 603-516-6450.