TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- It's time to bring a historic downtown Titusville landmark back to life, one community group says.
- Historic clock in downtown Titusville hasn't worked in decades
- Aerospace company has bought 93-year-old building next to it
- Community group wants to bring clock back online by 2020
"(I just have) fond memories of growing up downtown here," said Titusville native Steven Human, whose childhood involved playing and skateboarding on the streets of downtown.
Those fond memories include a historic clock that's a fixture at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Main Street.
"It would tell us what time curfew is, what time your Mom got off for lunch," Human said. "Noon, it would have 12 chimes, and it would just go on. I really enjoyed it."
But the old timekeeper, dating back to the 1930s, hasn't worked or chimed for some 30 years.
Now, an aerospace company out of Denver is getting hands on, buying the 93-year-old Walker Hotel and the First Federal Bank Building to which the clock is attached.
The Red Canyon Software group is revamping the nearly entire city block of property, including two old vaults, and creating office space and boutique-style apartments, using incentives from the North Brevard Economic Development Zone.
The goal is to return the clock to working order, with modern upgrades.
That's music to Human's ears, who says it's time for even more of a revitalized Titusville, especially as the Space Coast town continues to rebound after shutdown of the shuttle program.
"Bring downtown to what it was back in the day," Human said.
On Thursday, a community group called Greater Titusville Renaissance agreed to partner with the "Save the Clock" fundraiser. The hope is to have it operational by New Year's Eve 2020 or earlier.