When former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico came to Chicago in 1991, he made sure to pay a visit to the Little Village neighborhood, or “La Villita,” as locals call it. He was greeted by about 2,000 residents who welcomed him at the Little Village Arch, designed by artist and architect Adrián Lozano and constructed in 1990–91 at the heart of this largely Mexican American community. Salinas gave the community a bronze clock—crafted by Mexico’s oldest clockmaking company, Relojes Centenario—that has adorned the crown of the Little Village Arch ever since.

Over the years, the arch was repainted in a different color; the stone at the base was switched from the original granite to limestone; and the clock eventually stopped working. But following a $1.25 million city-led restoration completed in August 2024 by JLK Architects and contractor Construction Inc., the Chicago landmark now looks the way it did when it was built more than three decades ago. “Its architecture is referential to ceremonial arches and traditional Mexican colonial architecture,” says Meg Kindelin, president at JLK Architects. In addition to returning the stone base to granite and repainting the arch its original soft pink color, the team replaced the failing stucco and restored the original tilework. JLK and Construction Inc. worked directly with Relojes Centenario to restore the clock, enabling it to keep time once again.