Rotunda shoppers, merchants and neighbors paused yesterday morning as the four bronze bells in the Italianate tower on West 40th Street in North Baltimore struck 11 o'clock.
It was the first time the bells had been rung in several years.
Many greeted the ringing of the bells as a sign of revival at the community landmark. To mark the moment, the Western High School chorus sang "Ding Dong! Merrily on High."
Over the years, water and weather damaged the bell tower to the point where the clock had to be shut down to prevent further deterioration, Rotunda officials said.
"I missed ... hearing the bells," said Denise Whiting, owner of Cafe Hon in nearby Hampden. "It makes a nice addition to the audible landscape."
The 1921 Seth Thomas Connecticut bell clock is oiled and polished and its brass gleams in the sunlight. The bell tower was restored for about $500,000, which included recoating the terra cotta blocks by hand. Kann and Associates directed the work and Worcester Eisenbrandt Inc. carried it out.
Fred H. Eisenbrandt said it was a "fun job, enough to drive you crazy."
A new computer system for the clock motor was added to the original works. The hammers that hit the bells also appeared in fine working order. The bells will chime on the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and also ring every 15 minutes.
Manekin LLC officials said yesterday's occasion highlighted a continuing $3 million capital restoration of the complex, which the real estate company manages.
Craig G. Scheiner, a vice president at Manekin, said two or three vacancies exist in the mall, which has 78,000 square feet of retail space and 137,000 square feet of office space.
Tom Kiefaber, owner of the Senator Theatre, told the crowd he expects to open the doors of the new Rotunda Cinematique -- which would feature new movies and classics -- in mid-December. The cinema has been closed for a few years.
The buildings and grounds of the former Maryland Casualty Co. were designed in the 1920s to capture the look and feel of a campus with pillars, domes, high ceilings and gardens.
Marguerite Haines, 87, said that her grandfather was a gardener at the former Maryland Casualty and that she worked there as a file clerk from 1961 to 1979.
"It brings back memories and makes it more homey," said Haines, who lives within walking distance of the mall.
Her neighbor, Delcie Wiles, 80, said she and others come to the Rotunda for the amusing variety of life. "It's like a three-ring circus," she said. "You see everything."