A Maine city's yearslong effort to restore a historic clock tower is getting a boost from a preservation grant.
The Biddeford City Council voted Tuesday to repair and restore the clock itself, which sits on top of the 124-year-old City Hall. The city won a $150,000 historic preservation grant awarded by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation last year.
The clock stopped working four years ago. The Portland Press Herald reports the condition of the entire tower also remains a concern. Officials estimated it would cost at least $1.8 million to fix the clock tower, and voters rejected referendums to fund the work in 2007, 2012 and 2015.
City Hall is on the National Historic Register. Maine Preservation has included the clock tower on its list of most endangered Maine places.