Austin Klar documents the year-long restoration of Ghirardelli Square's 1916 clock tower. Workers replaced the roof with 2,000 ceramic tiles weighing six tons, rebuilt the dormers and crow's-nest with new LED lighting, and stripped lead paint before applying custom lead-free paint.
An iconic San Francisco monument just wrapped a painstaking restoration, and the results are incredible. The Ghirardelli Square clock tower has been covered up for a year during extensive restoration process. If you can believe it, the roof hadn't been replaced in about a century, and it required relaying about 2,000 tiles weighing 6 tons, all in a pattern that mimicked the pattern that had been present there for years. The decorative portions of the dormers and crow's nest were completely replaced with new LED lighting that matched the old lighting that wrapped around the clock tower. Lead paint had to be replaced, and a new paint was added with a completely custom color. The nationally registered historic landmark was originally built in 1916, and it's been used by people swimming in the bay to actually tell time. It's one of the most beautiful landmarks in the city, and it's great to see it brought back to life and hopefully set it up for another century anchoring our northern skyline. Let me know what you think of the new and improved clock tower in the comments, and follow me for more Bay Area real estate.
