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Original by Yuzo Komori
www.flickr.com/photos/pinboke/2990940273/in/set-721576030...
Large view is at best, if you want to read about the descriptions..
Above is the statue of Gassy Jack, the Founding Father of Gastown.. Not a very appealing statue though... Weird looking, like Gassy Jack is on high or something.. lol
Below is the Gastown Steam Clock, World's first steam clock..
Also, I think I found myself the best sketching pen.. =)
To the right is an old Byrnes Block building near the Gassy Jack statue on the corner of Water St. and Carrall St.
Steam Clock in historic Vancouver Gastown.
On various nights around the year, I go out. Either I can't sleep or something caught my eye earlier, but whatever the reason, the outcome is usually good!
Here is a shot from a recent Gastown outing.
SOOC, only tag added
Vancouver, BC Canada
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront (now Water Street and the CPR tracks), Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper name and postal address of which was Granville, B.I. ("Burrard Inlet"). The official boundary does not include most of Hastings Street except for the Woodward's and Dominion Buildings, and stretches east past Columbia St., to the laneway running parallel to the west side of Main Street.
Gastown is a mix of "hip" contemporary fashion and interior furnishing boutiques, tourist-oriented businesses (generally restricted to Water Street), restaurants, nightclubs, poverty and newly upscale housing. In addition, there are law firms, architects and other professional offices, as well as computer and internet businesses, art galleries, music and art studios, and acting and film schools.
The Gastown Steam Clock:
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)
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Thank-you for your visit, and any faves or comments are always greatly appreciated.
Sonja
Gastown steam clock and group taking wedding photographs. On Water Street in Gastown, Vancouver, British Columbia. July 2002.
A steam clock is a clock which is fully or partially powered by a steam engine. Only a few functioning steam clocks exist, most designed and built by Canadian horologist Raymond Saunders for display in urban public spaces. Steam clocks built by Saunders are located in Otaru, Japan; Indianapolis, USA; and the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Whistler and Port Coquitlam, all in British Columbia. Steam clocks by other makers are installed in St Helier, Jersey and at the Chelsea Farmers' Market in London, England..
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Although they are often styled to appear as 19th-century antiques, steam clocks are a more recent phenomenon inspired by the Gastown steam clock built by Saunders in 1977. One exception is the steam clock built in the 19th century by Birmingham engineer John Inshaw to demonstrate the versatility of steam power..
ใโ Reference By Wikipediaใ
Underneath Vancouver, Canada, there runs a series of steam pipes connected to a generating plant at Georgia and Beatty Streets. The system provides heat to most of the downtown core, and provides the steam for the whistles of the Gastown steam clock.
Despite seeming like a remnant of the Victorian era and being located in Vancouver's "Gastown" (which was the original townsite from which Vancouver grew in the 1870s), the Steam Clock is actually from a hundred years later, built in 1977 by horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith.
Saunders was hired by Gastown's local merchants to build the clock as a monument. It also had an alternative purpose: Placed over a steam grate above one of the aforementioned pipes, it kept local homeless from sleeping on the warm spot. The clock is likely only the second steam clock ever constructed, the first having been built by Englishman John Inshaw in 1859, to draw customers to his tavern.
Because Inshaw's clock was small and very inaccurate as a time keeper Saunders had to reinvent the steam clock from scratch. The new clock proved to be finicky and hard to keep running and required additional funds to get it working properly.
Saying the clock is "steam-powered" is a bit of a misnomer, as the clockworks itself is powered by descending weights. The mini-steam engine at the base of the clock case takes up the role of the human "winder" by raising a series of ball weights and delivering the weights to the clock drive train. But the steam engine is connected by a rubber belt to an electric motor hidden from view - much more reliable than steam power.
Every quarter hour, the two-ton Steam Clock shows off a bit, whistling and shooting steam from its five whistles in its version of the Westminster Chime. On the hour it marks each hour with a toot from each whistle.
There are six other working "Steam" Clocks in the world. The lesson was learned, though โ only the whistles are steam and the clockworks are electric.
Vancouver's iconic "Steam Clock" located on Water Street in the heart of Gastown.
Canon EOS 7D / EF50mm f/1.2L USM | 1/60 | f/1.8 | 50mm | ISO200
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The Gastown Steam Clock, the first steam powered clock in the world. Gastown is YVR's historical and tourist district, but is just a block from the marijuana cafes on West Hastings Street and a few blocks from the heart of East Hasting Street's zombie town of heroin addicts; so, there's an interesting mix wandering the Gastown streets.
a unique section of vancouver called Gastown. Brings many things from early days of vancouver and displays them. Also known for its countless small owner operator shops selling everything from shoes to spaghetti to diamonds.....
One of the many areas of vancouver tourists love to see
A steam clock is a clock which is fully or partially powered by a steam engine. Only a few functioning steam clocks exist, most designed and built by Canadian horologist Raymond Saunders for display in urban public spaces. Steam clocks built by Saunders are located in Otaru, Japan; Indianapolis, USA; and the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Whistler and Port Coquitlam, all in British Columbia. Steam clocks by other makers are installed in St Helier, Jersey and at the Chelsea Farmers' Market in London, England..
.
Although they are often styled to appear as 19th-century antiques, steam clocks are a more recent phenomenon inspired by the Gastown steam clock built by Saunders in 1977. One exception is the steam clock built in the 19th century by Birmingham engineer John Inshaw to demonstrate the versatility of steam power..
ใโ Reference By Wikipediaใ
Vancouver, BC Canada
Raymond Saunders' first steam clock was built in 1977 to solve the issue of a steam vent in a popular sidewalk for the renovated Gastown district of Vancouver.
Although the clock is now owned by the City of Vancouver, funding for the project, over $C58,000, was provided by contributions from local merchants, property owners, and private donors. Incorporating a steam engine and electric motors, the clock displays the time on four faces and announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters.
Many visitors including myself thought this was a very old clock but it was only built in 1977...only 37 years old.
Vancouver's Steam Clock is located in the Gastown district at the corner of Water and Cambie Streets. It was built in 1977 by horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith.
Every quarter hour, the Steam Clock whistles a portion of the Westminster Chime.
In the background is the Vancouver Lookout. Located in the Harbour Centre complex, it offers a 360ยบ aerial view of Vancouver from its 553-foot observatory.
ye olde steam-powered clock, except that it was built in 1977 and not so ye olde after all. still, it has a magical power to force tourists to use up film while in the vicinity