Arlette Saenz/ABC News

Remember that clock in the U.S. Capitol that shut down during the shutdown?

Well, today, the Ohio Clock came back to life, ticking again for the first time in at least a week.

Its hands were frozen in time during the shutdown because the Senate Curator's Office employee responsible for winding it was furloughed.

But with federal employees back on the job on Thursday after President Obama signed a bill to re-open the government, Richard Doerner, a museum specialist in the Senate, was back at his post.

Doerner opened up the glass on the face of the giant antique clock and moved the minute hand ever so slightly to 12:18. He then climbed down his small step ladder and took an ornate cover off the front of the antique clock to examine whether the pendulum was moving properly.

Doerner normally winds up the nearly 200-year-old clock each Monday, but last week, the time stopped at 12:15 since he was not here to perform the function.

The Senate purchased the clock in 1815, and it has stood in or near the Senate Chamber ever since. It currently resides in what is called the Ohio Clock Corridor, the site of many Capitol Hill news conferences.