AUBURN - "Old Wheeler" got a workout Tuesday afternoon as the Osborne family, city employees and residents filled the fourth floor of Memorial City Hall and took turns tugging with all their weight on a yellow-knotted rope connected to the 6,300-pound bell.

It was the building's 75th birthday Tuesday, and for celebration's sake, its bell was tolled 75 times. This marked the first time the city celebrated the anniversary of the April 5, 1930 dedication, when thousands of Auburnians and state dignitaries filled South Street to usher in the opening of the new civic center.

The celebration on Tuesday was quite a bit smaller - about 50 people attended. At 11:58 a.m., Frederik, 78, and Devens Osborne, 82, approached the rope. The Osborne brothers are great-grandchildren of David Munson Osborne, an industrialist and 26th mayor of Auburn for whom the building was dedicated.

Mayor Timothy Lattimore gave the Osbornes the OK to start the ringing.

"It's your building Osbornes," Lattimore said. "We're just borrowing it."

Frederik gave the rope 10 strong pulls before Devens and Lattimore joined in the fun.

City employees and residents followed Purchasing Agent Sherry Gabak, who has worked in City Hall for 14 years and said she's always wanted to ring the bell.

"It's always intrigued me," Gabak said. "I think it's the sound that's so intriguing. It was really cool."

At 12:05 p.m., the 75th "donnnnnngggggg" sounded out across the city and the group filed downstairs to the foyer area, where two cakes - both emblazoned with a black-and-white 1930 image of City Hall - were served.

Lattimore spoke about the Osborne history in Auburn and the 4,000 jobs the family created, saying he hopes to attract a D.M. Osborne-like entrepreneur to the area. City clerk Debra McCormick read a short history of the building and a proclamation awarded to the Osbornes.

Both Frederik and Devens were alive at the time of the dedication, but the only lasting memory of the event "was that it was extraordinarily dull," Frederik said.

The brothers both touched on the importance of the work of their aunts, Emily Osborne Harris and Helen Osborne Storrow, in donating the land (1.4 acres) and paying for the building ($353,628.19).

"I am delighted that this building continues to serve this city," Frederik said. "It's an honor to be here and be part of this celebration. The city of Auburn has been very good to our family, and the building is a source of pride for us."

A number of residents walked into city hall during the ceremonies, surprised at finding a birthday party taking place in the foyer.

A number of citizens circled around a placard positioned in the corner of the rose-tinged foyer that detailed some of City Hall's history and old photos.

Discussions broke out about how it housed the last vending machine in Auburn where you could get a 5-cent soda, how a terrible gas station fire across the street killed firemen in the 1960s, and how the architects (Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott) modeled city hall after Harvard University buildings.

Many said that for a small city like Auburn, its residents should feel lucky to have such a grand structure.

"It's an honor to work inside such a great place," Lattimore said. "The building was built with good blood."

Staff writer Benning W. De La Mater can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or ben.delamater@lee.net