It’s time to restore the Biddeford City Hall clock!
Balzer Family Clock Works removed the E. Howard & Co. clock from Biddeford City Hall on March 28 to begin to make the necessary repairs that will allow the clock to tell time once again.
The clock was originally installed in the tower in the early 1900s as a weight-driven, pendulum-regulated and completely mechanical operating timepiece. Around the 1960’s, some of the mechanical components were removed and electric motors were installed to drive the remaining mechanical components for the time function and to ring the bell. Many of the original mechanical components, including the pulleys, weights, and pendulum bob, are now missing and must be replaced.
A large portion of the Balzer’s restoration work is to convert the electrified mechanical timepieces back to their fully mechanical operation as they were originally designed. The Balzers will also install an automatic winding system for the weights so that staff will not have to manually wind the clock.