SCHENECTADY — Exciting news for Schenectady residents! The iconic City Hall clock tower is scheduled for a comprehensive restoration in the upcoming spring.
The city is gearing up to revamp the legendary gold-domed structure, which was severely damaged in a fire in 1983 and later reconstructed.
The City Council is expected to approve a budget of $508,000 for the clock tower’s renovations during its meeting on Monday. The plan includes replacing some of the wooden parts of the structure, repainting, and recoating the gold dome.
Earlier this summer, the city invited bids for the project. Mid-State Industries of Schenectady was chosen to carry out the refurbishment of the tower, originally built in 1931 and restored after the devastating 1983 fire.
City Engineer Chris Wallin, during a recent City Development and Planning meeting, emphasized the need for extensive renovations to the clock tower.
The white paint on the wood-framed clock tower is visibly chipped and peeling in several areas.
“A significant amount of the wood, particularly in the decorative elements, is rotten,” Wallin explained. “The paint is peeling off. We plan to repaint, but we don’t want to paint over damaged wood. We also plan to recoat the dome in gold and replace the clock faces. At present, they’re a bit loose and showing different times. Essentially, we’re looking at a complete overhaul of the clock tower.”
The funds for this project will be sourced from the city’s capital budget allocated for facility repairs.
Wallin clarified that the restoration work on the clock tower will not commence until next spring.
“Setting up the scaffolding alone will take a month,” Wallin informed the council. “Once the scaffolding is in place, we’d be dealing with unfavorable weather conditions [this year]. So, we thought it would be best to complete the work in the spring. The scaffolding setup will be quite intricate.”
In 2009, the city had repainted the gold dome and replaced balusters on the tower. A decorative urn that had fallen off was also replaced on the structure.
Mayor Gary McCarthy expressed that the clock tower will retain its familiar look but will appear rejuvenated once the latest restoration work is finished next year.
“It’ll look just the way it is today, only it’ll be in good shape,” McCarthy said on Wednesday.
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Disagree – City Hall’s historic clock tower should be preserved as is, not altered with renovations.
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