The Montreal Clock Tower (), also known as the Sailor's Memorial Clock, is located in the borough of Ville-Marie and is situated in the

Old Port of Montreal The Old Port of Montreal () is the historic port of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located adjacent to Old Montreal, it stretches for over along the Saint Lawrence River. It was used as early as 1611, when French fur traders used it as a trading post. ...

. The construction of the tower began in 1919, and was finished in 1922. The Clock Tower is tall with 192 steps from the bottom to the top of the tower.Leonard Panaggio, “Montreal Clock Tower,” ''Sea Classics'' 44 no. 8 (2011): 5 It has three observation stops along the staircase and the outside walls of the Clock Tower are white in colour. The structure consists of the principal tower as well as a smaller tower that is and architecturally similar to the main tower. The two towers are connected by a white curtain wall. The tower consists of four translucent clock faces. These are each in diameter and were designed by the English engineering firm

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...

. The building of the Montreal clock tower was directed by the Montreal Harbor Commission. The commission was formed in the year 1830 to oversea the infrastructural development of the Old Port of Montreal and was replaced by the

National Harbours Board The National Harbours Board was an agency of the Government of Canada, reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Transport (Canada), Minister of Transport. It was in operation from 1936 to 1983. History The idea of a system of national ports ...

in 1936. The tower marks the entrance to the Old Port of Montreal and its erection was dedicated to the seamen who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It is a symbol of the port's economic contribution through grain exportation to the city of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

during the era of the Clock Tower's construction.

History

Construction of the Montreal Clock Tower took three years, beginning in 1919 and ending in 1922. In 1919,

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, who was then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, began the construction by laying the first piece for the foundation of the Clock Tower. The grain sheds previously concealed by the curtain wall connecting the main clock tower and the smaller tower were removed in the 1970s. The actual Clock Tower structure was designed by Montreal engineer, Paul Leclaire. The mechanism in the clock tower was designed by the English engineering firm, Gillett & Johnson, who used a similar design to the

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...

. Originally called Gillett & Bland, the firm Gillett & Johnson have designed and constructed more than 14,000 clock mechanisms in their

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, England factory. The mechanism for the Montreal Clock Tower was one of these. The clock faces are operated by 4 interlocking gears that move each individual clock in unison. The owner of the tower is the Old Port Society, which was developed to manage tourism within the area. The Old Port Society made the Clock Tower a tourist interpretation centre in 1980. In 1984, the Old Port Society restored the Clock Tower, costing $2.5 million. The restoration included painting the steel surfaces and installing a new ventilation system.

Heritage Value

Environmental

The Montreal Clock Tower was announced as a Classified Federal Heritage Building as determined by the

Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office The Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO) was established in 1982 after the Government of Canada adopted an internal policy on managing heritage buildings. Today, federal heritage is incorporated into the Government of Canada's Treasury ...

(FHBRO) in 1996, due to its visual aesthetics as well as its historical and environmental values. The custodian for the tower is the

Public Works and Government Services Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; ),''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works and Government Services (). formerly Public Works ...

. The FHBRO considers the Clock Tower to be environmentally valuable and an important Montreal landmark as it was a central point for the redevelopment of the Old Port of Montreal in 1990. This redevelopment was directed by award-winning architects from the firm, Cardinal Hardy and Associates. The tower is situated opposite

Clock Tower Beach Clock Tower Beach (French: ''Plage de l'Horloge'') is an urban beach on the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, adjacent to the Montreal Clock Tower in the Old Port of Montreal. Description and history The beach opened in 2012. It consists of sand ...

(). The beach is swim-free and takes up of land.

Historical

The FHBRO determined the Montreal Clock Tower to be historically valuable due to its association with the role of the Old Port of Montreal in maritime transportation and grain exportation. The role of the Old Port in relation to grain exportation and cargo was classified as second in North America during the Clock Tower's construction. The Port's exportation made it a large contributor to the economic growth of Montreal as a city. New trees now grow where the grain sheds used for the storage of exporting goods once were. In relation to maritime transportation, the Old Port of Montreal was used as an exit and entry point for seamen during the First World War. The construction of the Clock Tower was dedicated to lost seamen during the First World War.

Architectural

The FHBRO considers the Montreal Clock Tower to be architecturally aesthetic due to its

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and B ...

. This style of architecture is defined as an expression of nature's beauty through a method of fine art and detail.Kant, les beaux-arts et leurs moyens d’expression
(Kant, the fine arts and their means of expression), Danielle Lories, “ ''Art and Medium 1: the medium of art'' 17 (2016): 6. The FHBRO notes that the Clock Tower's shape and decorative features adhere to the Beaux-Arts style and are also practical. The Clock Tower was constructed through a method of light masonry, by which the entire infrastructure is constructed as individual sections, and then joined at the end. This included separated building of the main clock tower, the smaller tower and the conjoining curtain wall. This building process made the Clock Tower light in weight and high in the quality of material used, allowing it to be supported by the wharf that it was built on without fault. The Clock Tower is made of concrete and is built on a square base, with each supporting corner at a different height on the ground. The stem of the tower consists of the entrance on the east facing side and signs of an old entrance on the south side, which was formally hidden by the grain sheds. The north facing side has a memorial plaque to the sailors who died during the First World War. The western facing side of the Clock Tower has rectangular columns reaching from the base. The FHBRO considers the sailor's memorial plaque, the granite placed by the Prince of Wales and the cannons featured at the entrance of the Clock Tower to be key architectural elements to be maintained. The upper portion of the tower features four clock faces, with columns and rectangular openings below the northern, eastern and western facing clocks. The southern face features rectangular openings in no particular pattern. Further below these, the Clock Tower has smooth concrete walls that extend to the base. Each corner of the concrete walls features a rectangular pillar with an eagle on top. Central to the upper portion of the Clock Tower is an observation deck. The smaller tower features corner

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s and is linked to the main tower by the concrete curtain wall.

Maintenance

The Montreal Clock Tower has a strict maintenance and repair schedule in order to preserve the life of the clock mechanism and ensure that the time displayed is accurate. Currently, professional clockmaker, Daniel Pelletier is responsible for the maintenance of the Clock Tower's mechanism, as well as the continuous adjustment of the time displayed on each of the four clock faces. Pelletier began working on the Clock Tower in 1986, when the mechanism broke down. In the spring and autumn of each year, Pelletier manually adjusts the time displayed the Clock Towers by moving the gears that move the hands on each clock in order to align with

daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

. The pendulum that motions the clock mechanism requires constant maintenance as it breaks more than five times a year. The mechanism and gears within the Montreal Clock Tower structure require ongoing maintenance due to the high temperatures in Montreal during summer and well as the cold climate during the winter months. Due to the high amount of human contact with the Clock Tower and its mechanism, tourism creates a buildup of dust and particles, creating a larger need for ongoing maintenance. The Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office concludes that constant and technical observation of the clock mechanism, as well as the inspection of the lights behind each clock face is essential to preserve the heritage of the landmark. The FHBRO notes that the exterior of the Clock Tower also requires constant maintenance in order to preserve the architecturally aesthetic qualities of the landmark. The FHBRO concludes that this process should include up keeping the trees behind the curtain wall, painting the exterior walls and the preservation of the memorial plaque on the northern facing side. In 2002, the Old Port of Montreal undertook major maintenance to the Clock Tower and installed a ventilation system and painted exposed steel surfaces. Major restoration on the Clock Tower also took place in 1984.

Tourism

In 1984, the Montreal Clock Tower was converted into a tourist interpretation centre following a restoration of the landmark. The Old Port Corporation manages tourism for the Old Port of Montreal.Awards and Distinctions
Old Port of Montreal, accessed May 29, 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clock Tower, Montreal 1922 in Canada Canadian military memorials and cemeteries

Landmarks in Montreal Monuments and memorials in Montreal Buildings and structures in Old Montreal Towers completed in 1922 Towers in Quebec World War I memorials in Canada 1922 establishments in Quebec 1920s in Montreal