Location: Administration Building, 510 Main Street
Cost: Unknown
Unveiled: September 16, 1974
When Winnipeg's "Gingerbread" City Hall was built in 1896, the design called for a large, four-faced clock in its tower. The timepiece did not materialize until 1903 due to budget constraints. The city clock served faithfully, with the odd outage as the decades wore on, until the building was demolished in 1961.
When a design was chosen for the new civic centre complex there was no provision made for a clock.
The old clock's faces and works were put into storage with the intention that they may be used in a future project. Finally, in 1987, parts of it it were unveiled in the clock tower in Edmonton Court at Portage Place.
June 29, 1961, Winnipeg Tribune
At the invitation of Mayor Juba, Molson Companies Ltd. held its September 1974 quarterly board meeting in Winnipeg as a nod to the city's centennial year.
At the time, Molson's consisted of ten subsidiaries with its brewing division making up just 48 per cent of its revenues. This was best illustrated in Winnipeg where several of those subsidiaries operated and at least four of them were headquartered: Molson’s Western Brewery; Beaver Lumber; Willson’s Stationers; and Seaway-Midwest.
In fact, Winnipeg was Molson's third largest base of operations with nearly 1,000 employees, just 120 of whom worked for the brewery division.
It is interesting to note that the brewery was a relative late comer to Winnipeg. It didn't enter the local market until 1960 when it purchased Fort Garry Brewery.
The Molson board did not come to Winnipeg empty handed. To help celebrate the city's centennial it donated a new city clock.
After the board meeting, which was held in the city hall chambers on September 17, 1974, everyone went out to the courtyard where the clock was officially presented to Mayor Juba by Molson board president D. G. Willmot. Around 600 helium-filled balloons were released as part of the event.
The clock measures 12 feet square and is ten inches thick. It was constructed in Winnipeg by the Claude Neon Company.
Time stood still in late 2009 when the clock's internal mechanism failed. It was removed in February 2010 for a $26,000 refurbishment and was reinstalled in November.
In 2012, problems again surfaced when it appears that the face of the clock was coming apart at the seam causing the hands to rub against it.
The clock again stopped working in 2019. This time, it was blamed on the fact that the hands had become loose from the clock mechanism. The problem was fixed and a new motor and LED bulbs were installed.
510 Main Street Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
Winnipeg Civic Centre 1964 - 2014 Exhibit Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
Also, read about the City Bell which is now on Selkirk Avenue.
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