Restored clock a timeless entity

A familiar face comes back to Union Station, now with up-to-the-minute technology

After an extensive restoration, the clock outside Union Station is once again marking time in the grand plaza on Front St. The timepiece was officially unveiled Monday and like the station itself, now has an antique face but a modernized interior. Its return serves as a perfect symbol for the revitalization of Toronto’s historic transportation hub.

Place of prominence (1)

When Union Station opened in 1927, its architects wanted an unobstructed view of its sweeping beaux-art facade, so the post clock was the only structure installed outside the Front St. entrance. Standing 5.3 metres high, it was a “slave unit” — its movements controlled by electrical pulses sent by a “master clock” inside the station, to which it was connected by hidden wires.

Heritage ignored (2)

Over the decades the clock noble appearance faded. Its classical reliefs and bronze fittings were obscured under 17 layers of paint, its body rusted and cracked. At some point, its original faces were removed, and the hands replaced with plastic versions. In 2009, it was put into storage to make way for the $800-million renovation to expand and modernize Union, scheduled for completion in 2017.

An overdue makeover (3)

A small army that included painter, welder, engineer, electrician, conservator and sandblast crew was required to restore the clock. The old paint was stripped off, and its brass fittings polished. Working from an old photograph, master horologist John Scott replaced the clock’s inner workings and had replicas made of its original faces, which used the 12 letters of “Union Station” instead of numbers to display the time. The work cost the city $118,000 and took six months. Return to glory (4) The restored timepiece now looks like it did 90 years ago, but it’s as accurate as the clock on your iPhone; it tells time using an antenna atop Union Station that picks up global positioning signals from satellites. Councillor Pam McConnell hopes the clock will serve as a centrepiece for the refurbished Front St. plaza, a “meeting place” that, starting this summer, will host arts and culture programming.

“It’s a clock with a great deal of history, and it’s a clock now that also has a huge future,” she said.

ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR 1 4 3 2 The timepiece that stands in front of Union Station looks just like it did 90 years ago, but works just as well as the clock on an iPhone.

CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES By 1974, the clock, seen here opposite the Royal York Hotel, had had its face removed and plastic hands. Below, the clock’s gutting was part of the $800-million renovation of the station.

CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES Australian cadets line up at Union Station in April 1929, two years after its opening. The architects designed the courtyard with only the clock because they wanted the view of the beaux-art facade to be unobstructed.

BEN SPURR/TORONTO STAR