If you’re driving near downtown tomorrow and look at Fort Worth’s lovely old county courthouse you might notice that the tower clock has stopped working.
A year-long renovation begins tomorrow, and the historic clock will be out of commission during that time.
Or maybe you’re a glass-half-full kind of person like County Commissioner Gary Fickes, who noted that the clock will be accurate twice a day for the next year.
The $5 million renovation will include replacing parts, sealing joints between the granite blocks to repel rain water, replacing the copper cladding on the roof dome, and repairing the internal structural steel support bracing, clock works, and clock face framing.
I asked county spokesman Mark Flake what will become of the old copper cladding that’s being replaced.
It’s a historic treasure and ought to be preserved.
Well, maybe not.
Flake says it’s next to impossible to preserve it during demolition, and so the the county will keep a few large pieces of the old copper for posterity, but most of it will be peeled off in sections and recycled by the contractor.
Who was the last clock smith to maintain and to service the clock?