INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis’s landmark “Ayres Clock” will undergo a second round of repairs to restore its luster and ensure its long-term viability.
The clock is owned by the City of Indianapolis – Department of Metropolitan Development, and Indiana Landmarks is leading the repair efforts and financing. The project will require the entire 10,000-pound clock to be temporarily removed from the spot it has occupied on the southeast corner of Washington and Meridian streets since 1936.
“The clock will be removed from the building and taken to an off-site facility for restoration, so things will look a little bleak on the historic corner until the work is done,” said Paul Smith, longtime Indiana Landmarks member and volunteer project manager for the clock’s restoration.
Named for the department store that occupied the corner for most of the twentieth century, the Ayres Clock is an important civic landmark. Historically, the Ayres Clock was the place where people met to go shopping, or to lunch or dinner. Now it’s the perch for the bronze cherub that appears on the corner each Thanksgiving eve to announce the arrival of the holiday season.
During the first round of repairs to the clock in 2016, workers discovered that the massive bronze box housing the clock’s mechanicals was in poor condition and leaking. The current repairs will address the leaks and conserve the bronze case. The work began on Feb. 12 with an “open clock” event that allowed potential vendors to inspect the clock in order to assess the job. Depending on the selected contractor’s schedule, the project team hopes the project can be completed in time for the holidays.
When Indiana Landmarks launched the 2016 fundraising campaign to repair the iconic clock, which had not worked for years, the public responded rapidly. In just 24 days, more than 350 people and organizations stepped up to donate $60,000.
Arthur Bohn originally designed the eight-foot-tall clock, which is mounted roughly 29 feet above the sidewalk on the corner of the building designed in 1905 by Vonnegut and Bohn.
