Finally a Clock Tower for Bonners Ferry
By: R.J. Cohn
Editor
Time has returned to downtown Bonners Ferry.
After more than a 25-year absence following the removal of a square clock mounted on a pole in front of the now defunct 1st Security Bank on Main Street, time has reared up over the heart of downtown from a 50-foot tower on the roof of City Hall.
And with spring lighting up the north Idaho skyline, the timing of the city’s unique four-faced clock tower that can be seen coming down both the North and South Hill couldn’t be more fitting.
It if doesn’t quite rival Big Ben of Westminster of landmark clock towers like Moscow’s Spasskaya Tower, it still carries a panache and a distinct flair symbolized by its red-peaked cap and wrap-around catwalks all of its own.
It has taken nearly a year to transform the former cinder block tower - which once served as the fire department’s hose tower in the 1950s - into what former city administrator Mike Woodward called the “capstone of downtown.”
“It was a diamond-in-the-rough just waiting to happen,” said Woodward. “The painting on the old tower had been peeling for years, the structure was chipped, and it was definitely an eyesore. It has turned into something very appealing that adds a lot of charm to Bonners Ferry.”
Sparked by a community fundraiser that pulled in close to $23,000, the clock tower - which was repainted and underwent a series of costly repairs - was originally planned to be in operation by Christmas.
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