Clocks due for a face-lift

From their perch high above downtown Minneapolis, the clocks of City Hall have kept residents punctual for 117 years. But the passage of time has taken its toll.

The iron skeletons holding together the faces of the 22-foot-diameter timepieces, one of the city's most iconic and enduring landmarks, have rusted and deteriorated. The white panes themselves are streaked with brown rust visible from the street below.

The neon clock remains as a backup in current plans. Cervantes isn't sure whether both would be illuminated simultaneously. The future of the neon hands, a somewhat jarring contrast to the Romanesque Revival building, is likely to spark conversation. 

Cervantes said the cost is driven partly by the complicated logistics of moving materials in and out of the historic building, as well as the price of crafting new steel frames to hold the plates together. The last major change to the clocks came five years ago, when each one got a GPS device to help it keep time independently as part of a $100,000 project.