The clock tower and its base grounded. – Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

The clock tower and its gigantic base that once stood tall atop the rooftop of the Somerville District Courthouse located at 175 Fellsway in Somerville since it was built back in 1967, now sits beside the courthouse on its side lawn on the Middlesex Avenue.

Work crews carefully cut out the perimeter around the plywood clock tower structure and its rotted out base and then gently hoisted it by crane in two separate pieces before lowering them to the ground.

The historic clock tower and its base now sit in a fenced off area next to the Somerville District Courthouse where it will be temporarily stored while it is prepared for transport to be restored back to its original condition.

Somerville District Courthouse is without the tower on its roof for the first time since 1967. – Photo by William Tauro

The Somerville District Courthouse, a division of the Massachusetts Court System, holds trials in its three courtrooms. The building is in some disrepair, and as in an area of Somerville that is undergoing rapid redevelopment. Many feel that it is time for the courthouse to get a makeover and that it is an eyesore with paint peeling off around the entire structure in big flakes, along with the potential public safety hazard of its rotted wooden roof and tower.