By Steve Hubrecht
There’s a new landmark in Invermere: the District of Invermere (DOI) now has a freestanding downtown clock.
The stately black-and-white analog timepiece, with hours marked in Roman numerals, went up a few weeks ago and is now draped in a festive garland and laden with snow — prompting many locals (and a few visitors) to post photos on social media.
That kind of buzz is exactly what the district was hoping for, explained Invermere mayor, Al Miller.
“It will become a meeting place. People will say ‘Let’s meet up at the clock’,” Miller told the Pioneer.
For those who haven’t seen it yet, picture something akin to cross between Vancouver’s huffing Gastown steam clock and the gleaming, round opal glass Grand Central terminal clock in New York, but, of course, smaller in scale.
Invermere’s new downtown clock has been placed along 7th Avenue (Invermere’s main street), on the northwest corner of the four-way intersection by the banks (commonly known as Disfunction Junction because of the way the streets meet in disjointed fashion) where it makes a great southerly counterpoint to Invermere’s other local landmark, Rusty the Moose (which stands a few blocks north of the new clock, outside the Artym Gallery, on corner of 7th Avenue and 10th Street).
“I think it looks really nice. I really like that it’s analog. It brings some old-fashioned charm to Invermere and adds to our downtown core. I also like that we now have the clock at one end of the downtown and Rusty at the other,” said Miller.
The clock may have only gone up recently, but it has been almost a year in the making. It was proposed in late 2021 by Columbia Valley dentist, Jim Guild, his partner Robin Britton, and Doug Kipp, in memory of former Invermere resident Kris Scamen (Anderson). The residents had offered to buy the timepiece and donate it to the district.
Guild has worked all over western Canada, and had been struck by the aesthetically pleasing nature of several other municipal freestanding clocks he had encountered, particularly one in Whitehorse, Yukon, that was decorative but also functional, since it made sure that everybody in downtown Whitehorse always knew what time it was.
The value of the clock, including decorative details and shipping, is around $10,000, making it a generous gift indeed, and Miller expressed gratitude to Guild, Britton and Kipp.
