For whom the bell tolls again: Downtown Davenport
A sound that hasn’t been heard for a very long time in downtown Davenport is regularly marking time again: Davenport City Hall’s historic clock tower is tolling.
The hands that were frozen in time more than a decade ago are moving.
The Tower Clock Company out of Ohio made the repairs, patched up some cracks and repaired other wear and tear on the tower.
All the work cost about $50,000.
Davenport Alderman Rick Dunn gave Our Quad Cities News a first look inside the tower on Monday. He says the bell almost was removed. Dunn and his brother, Alderman Tim Dunn, were among city employees who volunteered their time. Tom Warner, former city attorney, completed the lettering on the frame of the clock.
Among the historical items workers discovered in the tower were the original instructions on how to run the clock and a bottle of tower clock oil from the 1800s.
“They were going to take the bell – that’s 1874 – they wanted to take that bell and display it at the new Fire Station 3 in a display case. We had a little discussion. ‘Hey, is it better to be on display or better to be heard.?’ I thought, ‘Better to be heard,'” Dunn said.
The bell rings every half hour in the tower that was built, along with city hall, in 1895 bell. At the top of the hour, the bell indicates the time.
The company that fixed the clock also restored the clock tower on Arsenal Island.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
