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The clock on the corner
?On page 7 of this issue, you will see some photos of the installation of a rather spectacular new addition to downtown Uxbridge. Most of you will have already seen it in person by now, because even before the Big Dig construction work reaches its conclusion with the contents of all the huge planters (which have been eagerly anticipated ever since the planters appeared, and should begin by this weekend), they will find it hard to measure up, as grand finales go, to the gorgeous clock on the corner outside Rutledge Jewellers.
The clock, as you will know if you read our Cup of Coffee with Scott Rutledge a few weeks ago, is not really a part of the Big Dig; it’s not being paid for by your tax dollars. Instead, it is the Rutledge family’s gift to their town. After an unspecified number of years, the Township will take over its maintenance, but for now, it’s an amazingly generous donation by one business to the beautification of Brock Street. Mr. Rutledge just took advantage of the re-wiring and re-sidewalking of the street to put in the foundation for the clock (the elegantly simple pedestal upon which it sits is his own design).
Of course, this one clock was only a small part of the jeweller’s original vision; a couple of years ago, he presented a plan to Township Council which would have seen up to a dozen or more such structures scattered throughout the town, each one different, but all of them with a classic historical look which would have matched the best of the buildings in the downtown.
And that’s one sad thing about the clock’s location. If you gaze at it with the jewellery store in the background, as our photographer has, it’s perfect. But if you come upon it as you’re walking north on Church Street, you see it with the backdrop of the very plain building across the street. It makes one ache for the lovely post office building which used to occupy that spot, and bemoan the unbelievable short-sightedness of the Council which allowed its destruction.
But perhaps the Rutledge clock will be the catalyst for some dramatic changes in restoring a heritage look to the downtown core. The Community Improvement Plan unveiled by Council last week has the potential to encourage a fundamental facelift to some of the uglier facades along Brock Street. The chair of the BIA, after all, is just one of the community-spirited commercial occupants of the aforementioned “bowling building” which replaced the old post office; surely they could band together to create a plan which would at least go some distance toward making them more visually compatible with their friends across the street.
And perhaps Mr. Rutledge should dust off his plans for the “village of clocks”. Installing one of them has certainly been a visual inspiration. One could interpret the CIP criteria to include such an addition - couldn’t you? Maybe the train station will be next, or the Music Hall, or in front of the Library?
Whatever happens next, Mr. Rutledge deserves a healthy cheer for single-handedly making a major contribution to the revitalization of downtown. Don’t just talk about it, he seems to be saying, make it happen. He certainly did, and the result is wonderful indeed.
