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Lightning Strikes SLC Clock Tower and Freezes Time

3,012 views · Published 15 June 2013 · 2:23 · Indexed 26 October 2026

Channel: KUTV 2 News Salt Lake City · 2013 · News & Politics

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By Christine McCarthy(KUTV) Those accustomed to hearing the chimes of the clock atop the Salt Lake City and County building might have noticed a stark quiet in Washington Square ever since lightning hit the building last month during a city council meeting and froze time in its place.I'm pretty sure I screamed and jumped out of my desk chair when it happened,€ said Art Raymond, deputy director of communications for the Salt Lake City Mayor€™s Office. The clock had been stopped exactly at the moment of the lightning strike, which, as people have been noticing over the past few weeks, is about two minutes to five.€Caitlin Campbell and Lucent Fox work near Washington Square and often hear the bells while walking around the building.I like to take a stroll around downtown, Fox said. It's nice to take a walk through the parks.Last month, Campbell was nearby when the lightning struck and fried the computerized circuit boards that coordinate the movement of the hands of the clock as well as the bells and chimes.€œI was walking home from work, and I just heard the thunder roll through,€ Campbell said.Since then, the clock has been stuck at 4:58, but the Back to the Future jokes have been rolling in.A lot of Marty McFly references and statements about flux capacitors, Raymond said about the talk around city hall.Others have been joking about using the broken clock as an excuse to grab a beer.It's always 5 o'clock. It's always time to get drinks, Fox said. Maybe it's a practical joke.The custom-built circuit boards have been sent to New York to be repaired, and city crews will get the clock back in working order on Tuesday, Raymond said.€œThe new technology failed us,€ Raymond said of the high-tech mechanism that is especially sensitive to such an electrical event.The infrastructure of the building was designed to withstand lightning, and no other part of the building was damaged, Raymond said.(Copyright 2013 Sinclair Broadcasting Group)

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