Clock outside Union Station suddenly crashes to the ground

Time ran out Thursday for a stately clock that suddenly crashed to the ground outside Union Station.

Duane Erickson, director of building and technical operations at Union Station, said the clock fell off its base about 2 p.m.

“We’re flabbergasted that it fell,” he said. “The clock is in pieces. We’re hoping to get it fixed, but it will have to totally be redone. It’s not just a couple of parts you can glue back together.”

He said the base was made of two pieces and the top part fell off. He thinks strong winds over the years probably loosened the clock’s bolts.

“The base itself was one of the original pieces here at the station,” he said. “The actual clock itself wasn’t old, but it was remade when we reopened back in 1999.”

He said the base will probably be easier to repair than the clock.

“I know somebody who might be able to do that,” he said. “They fixed a couple of our historic streetlights that have been knocked over by school buses in the past few years. I’m hoping he can do his magic on this too.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Clock outside Union Station suddenly crashes to the ground."