The 107-year-old clock tower at Ghirardelli Square has been concealed behind white wrapping for nearly a year, but just had its triumphant unveiling now that some water damage problems have been repaired.

If you haven’t been to Fort Mason’s Ghirardelli Square lately (or if you’ve just never been) we’ll remind you that the converted chocolate factory is actually five buildings. And while there is still a Ghirardelli Chocolate restaurant and retail presence there, there’s a lot more retail than just Ghirardelli Chocolate. The clock tower at the facility is part of a building that’s actually a hotel/luxury apartment called the Fairmont Heritage Place.

But that clock tower above the Fairmont Heritage Place has been behind scaffolding and white covering for nearly a year, because it’s been under repair since last July. There was apparently a ceiling leak, as the roof had apparently never been repaired or required any maintenance in the 107-year-old history of the building.

But now the Chronicle reports that a year later, the Ghirardelli Square clock tower has had its covering and scaffolding removed, and can again be enjoyed in its full glory. Given the building’s age, restorers used the exact same type of slate tiles — from the exact same Vermont/New York region — that were used in the original construction more than a century ago, believing that this slate has been part of the secret to the tower's longevity.

“For historic preservation reasons when putting the new tiles in place we used the exact same layout and design, including zigzags next to the dormers,” the West Coast regional manager of the building’s owner Jamestown, Alex Schwiebert, told the Chronicle. “Ghirardelli Square is a place where you want to honor the past.”

Yet there are some new, modern aspects to the restoration. The light bulbs going up and down the clock tower are now LED bulbs, and the new paint just applied around the windows is now lead-free.

Though for all of these upgrades, the Chronicle notes that the one of the four clocks atop the tower is currently not telling the right time. The south-facing clock is about an hour and half fast, but Jamestown representatives say that will be repaired ASAP.

Related: The Cliff House Won't Reopen This Year Due to 'Unanticipated Repairs' [SFist]

Image: Ghirardelli Chocolate