The City of Lenoir has the design for a new clock tower that will hold City’s historic downtown clock. The community has been invited to add their artistic touch to the project.

Last fall, the City had to demolish the old clock tower on the square in Downtown Lenoir. Sections of the façade were cracking and pulling away from the brick underneath and the structure was weakening. After removing the structure, staff stored the clock for safekeeping.

After the old tower came down, Main Street Director Kaylynn Horn and other City staff started exploring options to build something new to hold the city clock. Lenoir and Caldwell County are home to more than 80 pieces of publicly displayed sculpture, and the Western North Carolina Sculpture Center (WNCSC) is just up the road from the city. Director Horn thought it would be worth reaching out to the Sculpture Center staff to see if they would be interested in helping with the project.

The discussions resulted in a piece titled “Time Well Spent.” There are two sizes of tiles that are available to buy – 8 inches square, and 14 inches square. The 8-inch tiles are $75 and the 14-inch tiles are $100. The smaller tiles will be placed on each side of the three columns that support the tower. The larger tiles will be placed at the top of the sculpture.

Everyone who purchases a tile will have to attend a workshop where they will create the scratch mold for their tile. The workshops will be up to three hours long and will be held on Saturdays at Mulberry Recreation Center. There is plenty of parking and the center is ADA accessible. The workshops will be held Aug. 5, 12, 19, and 26, and Sept. 2, 16, and 23, from 9:00 am to noon or noon to 3:00 pm. Get more details and see photos at the City of Lenoir website, www.cityoflenoir.com.