Working On The Custom House Tower Clock 22 Stories Above Boston

BOSTON - JUNE 11: Bob Kinney from Chelmsford, a waterproofer with Chapman Waterproof, scrapes the copper surrounding the 25-foot diameter Custom House Tower clock as he is suspended on scaffolding on the west side of the building 22 floors high in downtown Boston. Work on this clock is complete and involved chipping and scraping out the deteriorated concrete, and painting the clock's face. The numbers on the clock are made of glass, as are the small minute circles, and Kinney said one was broken from a bird crashing into it. The hands of the clock are gilded, gold leaf and made of wood. "I've been working on the four clock faces for two and a half months through wind and rain. People don't realize what it's like to be up here when the wind blows the scaffolding 15 feet away from the building," Bob Kinney said, a safety harness strapped around him. On Aug. 1, the Custom House will be 150 years old. The tower was completed in 1915, and was the tallest building in Boston until 1947. The photographer used an extreme-wide 14mm lens, holding it over his head, to make this image. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)