Vancouver city famous spot The Gas Town Steam clock, Beautiful British Columbia, November 15, 2025 скачать в хорошем качестве

Vancouver city famous spot The Gas Town Steam clock, Beautiful British Columbia, November 15, 2025

Vancouver city famous spot The Gas Town Steam clock #beautifulvancouver #dailyflights #vancouver #gastownsteamclock #steamclock, details you can find from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_c..., The Vancouver Gastown Steam Clock build in 1977, the neighbourhood’s revitalization efforts and to cover an unsightly steam grate. Although it appears historic and Victorian-era, it is a modern creation designed by horologist Raymond Saunders (who passed away in November 2024 at the age of 84) to blend with the surrounding architecture. Key Historical Details Creation and Purpose: In the mid-1970s, as part of a push to prevent a freeway from demolishing historic buildings in Gastown, the city decided to invest in revitalizing the area. Local merchants and donors raised funds to commission a unique landmark that would draw people to the neighbourhood and utilize an existing steam vent in the sidewalk. The vent was a popular spot for homeless people to sleep for warmth during cold weather, and the clock was also intended to deter this. Design and Mechanics: Horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith designed and built the clock. It stands 16 feet tall, weighs two tons, and features a Victorian design. While steam is channelled into the base of the clock from the downtown heating system to power its whistles and a miniature steam engine, the actual timekeeping mechanism has been primarily run by an electric motor for better accuracy since 1986. Public Attraction: The clock is one of the few working "steam" clocks in the world and has become one of Vancouver's most famous and photographed landmarks. Every quarter-hour, its five brass whistles play the Westminster Quarters chime, and a toot of steam is released at the top of each hour. Legacy: Despite some debate over its "faux history" (as many tourists assume it is from the 1800s), the clock is now a beloved symbol of the successful effort to preserve and revitalize the Gastown neighbourhood. It has been featured in popular culture, including on the cover of the Nickelback album Here and Now and in the Mario Kart Tour video game. Saunders went on to build other similar steam clocks for other cities worldwide, including Whistler and Otaru, Japan. Sourse from Wikipedia:- Raymond Saunders' first steam clock was built in 1977 at the corner of Cambie and Water streets[2] in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood at 49°17′04″N 123°06′32″W.[3][4] It was built to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam heating system, as a way to harness the steam and a means of masking Central Heat's sidewalk steam vent at the corner of Water Street and Cambie Street.[5] Although the clock is now owned by the City of Vancouver, funding for the project, estimated to be about $58,000 CAD,[6] 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.[7] The clock produces a puff of steam from its top on the hour.[2] The steam used is from a 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. The steam engine that originally ran the clock is a Stuart #4 single-expansion double-acting 1" piston engine.[8] This engine is still visible through the glass sides of the clock. However, owing to the clock's high noise levels and inability to keep accurate time, since 1986 the clock has been powered by an electric motor that was originally intended solely as a back-up system.[9] In October 2014, the clock was temporarily removed for major repairs by its original builder, and was reinstalled January 2015.[10][11] The clock appears on the cover of the Nickelback album Here and Now and is also featured in a scene from the 1991 Chuck Norris action film The Hitman. It also appears in the 2019 mobile game Mario Kart Tour and the Nintendo Switch game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the "Vancouver Velocity" race course.