A group of local citizens gathered at noon in front of the C.L. Hoover Opera House on West 7th to celebrate the completion of repairs to the clock and the bell in the tower of the building.

The bell tolled 12 times at noon. Opera House Co-Director Joe Markley said Friends of the Opera House and other people attended the celebration. The bell tolls on the hour during the day, but is off at night.

Markley said as part of the project the clock faces were removed and cleaned. “The black was all repainted. All the works driving the hands are brand new in there as well as the digital machinery that drives it. We also connected the bell which hasn’t worked for decades at least, depending on who you talk to.”

The entire $26,750 cost of the project was paid by donors to the project.