The Gastown Steam Clock - Vancouver - a photo on Flickriver

The Gastown Steam Clock - Vancouver

            Vancouver, BC Canada

 Gastown's most famous (though nowhere near oldest) landmark is the steam-powered clock on the corner of Cambie and Water Street. It was built in 1977 to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam heating system, as a way to harness the steam and to prevent street people from sleeping on the spot in cold weather. Its original design was faulty and it had to be powered by electricity after a breakdown. The steam mechanism was completely restored with the financial support of local businesses as it had become a major tourist attraction, and is promoted as a heritage feature although it is of modern invention.
 
The steam used is low pressure downtown-wide steam heating network (from a plant adjacent to the Georgia Viaduct) that powers a miniature steam engine in its base, in turn driving a chain lift. The chain lift moves steel balls upward, where they are unloaded and roll to a descending chain. The weight of the balls on the descending chain drives a conventional pendulum clock escapement, geared to the hands on the four faces. The steam also powers the clock's sound production, with whistles being used instead of bells to produce the Westminster "chime" and to signal the time.
 
In October 2014 the clock was temporarily removed for major repairs by its original builder, and should have been reinstalled by January 2015.
 
The Gastown Steam Clock appears on the cover of the 2011 Nickelback album Here and Now and is also featured in a scene from the 1991 Chuck Norris action film The Hitman. 

(Wikipedia)

This image is best viewed in Large screen.
 
Thank-you for your visit, and any faves or comments are always greatly appreciated.

Sonja

Taken on: April 9, 2022

Tags:

Vancouver

Gastown District

Water Street

Eclectic

Shopping

Historic Buildings

Historic Area

British Columbia

Canada

Landmark

Gastown Steam Clock

Visitors

Tourists

Heritage

Steam Clock

Clock

Nikon

Nikon D7500

Sonja Peterson Photography

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

Peterson Photography

Tourist Attraction

Pendulum Clock

Low-Pressure Steam

Chimes

Whistles

Gears

Cambie Street

Iconic

Historic

Shoppes

Area

Steam

Historic Site

Historic District « less

Sets appears in: • Coal Harbour, False Creek, Stanley Park, English Bay, Sunset Beach, Gastown, Vancouver, BC (2022)

Camera: Nikon D7500, f/8.0, 1/200 sec, 38mm (=57mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7500
Lens:	18.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-6.3
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	38mm (35mm equivalent: 57mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	-4/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Saturation:	High
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
Show full info

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