Every 15 minutes Gastown’s famous Steam Clock (built 1977) at Cambie and Water Street toots and steams, so join the throngs with cameras and cheer, because small folk find it amusing. The tune is Westminster Quarters, the same you’ll hear from clocks like Big Ben in London and the church of St Mary the Great in Cambridge.
Although the clock is built on a steam vent from the city’s downtown centralized heating system, which powers a miniature steam engine, it also relies on electric motors. The whistle is from a Canada Pacific Railroad train.
Read the full Small Folk Travel Vancouver Guide.
Image: GoToVan
No comments