Word was that the Wellesley Municipal Light Plant and Department of Public Works would be removing the iconic two-dial street clock in Wellesley Square for renovation at 8AM on Thursday, and the crew didn’t waste any time.
(See also: “Wellesley Square clock won’t be showing its faces around here in a bit”)
With the aid of Medfield’s Electric Time Co., which will be giving the clock a makeover before the holiday season, the clock face and post were up and out of the ground within an hour. The clock, which has stood in Wellesley Square since 1998, stands over 15 feet tall. While Electric Time wasn’t sure how much the clock weighed, its current two-dial clocks weigh 562 pounds.
I stood near town landscape planner Cricket Vlass, who despite her faith in the MLP and DPW couldn’t bear to watch the entire operation carried out within and above her bright flower plantings. Now the flower patch surrounds just the remaining clock innards and base.
DPW’s Kevin Collins said he anticipated the team having to use a backhoe to haul out the clock. But the MLP displayed its bucket truck wizardry in plucking the clock face and post from their stations once assorted fastenings were removed and power was disconnected.
Time out for #Wellesley Square’s giant clock https://t.co/jJs0c1ftU6 @tower_clocks pic.twitter.com/ejPrncYq2X
— swellesley (@swellesley) September 3, 2020
The plan by Electric Time now is to strip down the clock, sandblast it, paint it, and replace or upgrade parts as needed.
Here’s the original drawing for the clock, shared by Electric Time:
Great work by DPW and MLP…and very timely! 🙂