The Lincoln Street Mill began production in 1853 and, with additions, contained eight million square feet of floor space. Power from the Saco River arrived through twenty-seven-foot-diameter brick-lined tunnels, and turbines converted the flow into power. Downtown was filled with the roar of hundreds of loom shuttles moving through cloth. A clock tower and bell were added to the mill in 1896, and from the 1840s New England mills ran by the public clock; together with school bells, church bells, and mill bells, this helped Biddeford become known as the "City of Bells." The large flag decorating the mill came from Filene's Department Store in Boston and was installed on April 14, 1917, in support of World War I. The tower and clock were removed after the building's sale in 2007, and following restoration the clock will be reinstalled at the entrance of the Riverwalk.