PEI·NewAfter three years, the clock tower atop Summerside’s historic city hall is keeping time once again. The four-faced timepiece has gradually seen its mechanical workings break down over, well, time. Repairs made city hall’s timepiece more accurate, says horologistStephen Brun · CBC News · Posted: Oct 15, 2025 5:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 32 minutes ago’It needed someone up there every two days to rewind the counterweights… when it was operating three years ago,’ says John Scott, who was part of the team that repaired the clock tower above city hall in Summerside. (Connor Lamont/CBC)After three years, the clock tower atop Summerside’s historic city hall is keeping time once again. The mid-1880s building, which once served as a post office before its current incarnation, had its clock tower added in 1915. But the four-faced timepiece has gradually seen its mechanical workings break down over, well, time. “That’s what happens with those large mechanical clocks. They’ll either lose time or they’ll just stop altogether — or be a four-faced liar,” said horologist John Scott, who does clock and bell tower repair and is based in Hamilton, Ont. “In its present state, it needed someone up there every two days to rewind the counterweights, I was told, when it was operating three years ago.” LISTEN | John Scott gets the Summerside clock tower back in time:Mainstreet PEI6:36John Scott gets the Summerside clock tower back in timeSummerside’s clock tower is back, chiming through downtown. We speak to John Scott who got it back up and keeping time.The City of Summerside called Scott when it became apparent that the tower was no longer working as it should. At first, he corresponded with city officials over the phone and email. Eventually, though, a hands-on approach was needed. “Tower clocks, it’s a different field altogether where the diagnostics have to be handled differently,” Scott said. “You can’t take the clock out of the tower and back to the shop and study it. You have to do your diagnostics and repair right there on the spot, and hopefully it works.” ‘It’s a time authority’How exactly the clock tower does work now is a mixture of leaving some of the working components behind and adding a few modern flourishes. ‘From the outside it looks exactly the same,’ Scott says of the repair work done to the clock. (Connor Lamont/CBC)Older components of the clock that no longer function properly were removed, but stored safely in the tower. Scott said those could be used at some point in the future as reference points for 3D-printed replacement copies of the mechanisms. To ensure the century-old clock can function in modern times, though, Scott and his team installed an electromagnetic striker to chime the bells on the hour. They also added a GPS antenna to keep the clock on time, just like a cellphone. “From the outside it looks exactly the same, so you wouldn’t know it unless you were up behind the dials,” he said. “It’s more accurate. It’s a time authority now, actually.”ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen Brun is the copy editor for digital news at CBC Prince Edward Island. A graduate of UPEI and Holland College, he has been a writer and editor for a number of newspapers and websites across Canada for nearly two decades. You can reach him at stephen.brun@cbc.ca.With files from Jackie Sharkey and Mainstreet P.E.I.
Mix of new and old-school tech has Summerside’s clock tower ticking like new
