Raymond Saunders, the creator of the steam clock in Vancouver’s Gastown district, died Saturday at the age of 83, according to a member of his family.
He has built and maintained outdoor clocks in British Columbia and around the world for over 40 years.
He was best known for the clock Gastownbuilt in 1977 and became an often photographed tourist and popular attraction.
His daughter, Julia Saunders, remembers him as a “kind, generous and funny” man. She plans to place flowers inside the steam clock and post a note to inform the Downtown Eastside community of her father’s passing.
It’s an honor to be his daughter and see what he brought to the world
she said.
The renovation of the Gastown Steam Clock in 2014
Watchmaker Raymond Saunders built the Gastown Steam Clock in the 1970s.
Photo: - / Gian Paolo Mendoza
A fight for its creation
On the occasion of the clock’s 40th anniversary in 2017, Raymond Saunders indicated that this was the first steam clock he worked on.
The Gastown clock was a real struggle.
He originally estimated that the clock would cost $25,000 to build when he proposed it in 1975, but the project ultimately cost $58,000.
The clock was built to cover a steam vent that the city found unsightly. This project was part of the city’s efforts to revive the historic downtown district.
I am very proud of the popularity of the clock, which has become a true icon for the city
he said at the time.
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The Gastown Steam Clock is a very popular tourist attraction. (Archive photo)
Photo : - / Ben Nelms
A work sometimes criticized
A popular tourist attraction for some Vancouver residents, the clock has also been accused of being a falsely historical piece, because it does not actually run on steam.
It is presented in a way that makes countless tourists believe that it is some sort of ancient device when in reality it dates from 1977
explained the comedian Colin Sharp has CBC/- in 2017.
Raymond Saunders rather thought that the design of the clock is intended to reflect the era of the buildings around it, not to mislead anyone.
The clock uses two electric motors, one to wind it and the other to fan it. The timepiece once used a steam engine, but it only lasted 10 years before breaking down.
The steam is still the cause of the characteristic whistling sound of the clock.
Besides the steam clock of Gastown, Raymond Saunders also maintained street clocks in the neighborhoods of Kerrisdale and of Mount Pleasantin Vancouver, as well as the clock tower in the Maillardville district, in Coquitlam.
With information from Maryse Zeidler and Gian-Paolo Mendoza
