The iconic Gastown steam clock , Raymond Saunders' first steam clock was built in 1977 at the corner of Cambie and Water streets in Vancouver's Gastown .It was built to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam heating system, as a way to harness the steam and a means of masking Central Heat's sidewalk steam vent at the corner of Water Street and Cambie Street." Although the clock is now owned by the City of Vancouver, Incorporating a steam engine and electric motors, the clock displays the time on four faces and announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters. The clock produces a puff of steam from its top on the hour.The steam used is low pressure downtown-wide steam heating network (from a plant adjacent to the Georgia Viaduct) that powers a miniature steam engine in its base, in turn driving a chain lift. The chain lift moves steel balls upward, where they are unloaded and roll to a descending chain. The weight of the balls on the descending chain drives a conventional pendulum clock escapement, geared to the hands on the four faces. The steam also powers the clock's sound production, with whistles being used instead of bells to produce the Westminster "chime" and to signal the time. The steam engine that originally ran the clock is a Stuart #4 single expansion double acting 1" piston engine. This engine is still visible through the glass sides of the clock. However, owing to the clock's high noise levels and inability to keep accurate time, since 1986 the clock has been powered by an electric motor that was originally intended solely as a back-up system.

In October 2014, the clock was temporarily removed for major repairs by its original builder, and was reinstalled January 2015.

The clock appears on the cover of the Nickelback album Here and Now and is also featured in a scene from the 1991 Chuck Norris action film The Hitman. It also appears in the 2019 mobile game Mario Kart Tour and the Nintendo Switch game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as part of the "Vancouver Velocity" race course. It's one of the most popular tourist attractions here in Gastown , its usually extremely crowded especially in summer seasons it's packed here . Thier is parking around and public transportations nearby and lots of restaurants around the area of the clock ...its a short walk from & to the cruise ship terminal at Canada place .