Street clock

For other uses, see Sidewalk clock (disambiguation).

A street clock or post clock is a freestanding clock mounted on top of a post typically installed in a streetscape, sidewalk, or other urban or park settings. These clocks were prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, serving as both functional timepieces and advertisements for jewelers and watchmakers. Many were manufactured by companies like E. Howard & Co. and Seth Thomas Clock Company and remain historic landmarks today.

Street clock in Utica, New York, USA

History

Street clocks emerged in the 1870s-1880s in major cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago. Many were installed in front of jewelry stores to symbolize precision and reliability.^[1]

Freestanding sidewalk clocks mounted on street posts are common in many urban areas. For example, in New York City there are six sidewalk clocks that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[2]

A less common kind of street clock can be found on Maiden Lane in Manhattan, New York. In the late 19th century, William Barthman Jewelers had a clock embedded in the sidewalk.^[3][4] As of 2014^[update], the clock remains visible and maintained.^[3]

Past street clock manufacturers in the United States included:

• Brown Street Clock Company, of Monessen, Pennsylvania
• E. Howard & Co., of Roxbury, Massachusetts
• Seth Thomas Clock Company

Current street clock manufacturers in the United States:

• Tower Clocks USA
• The Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio

Examples

• 
  Jessop's Clock in Westfield Horton Plaza 7, San Diego, California
• 
  New York Sidewalk Clock, at 783 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City
• 
  Built in Boston, Massachusetts, by Seth Thomas Clock Company in 1911, it was moved to Bath, Maine, in 1915^[5]
• 
  In Ellis Square, Savannah, Georgia
• 
  William Stromberg Clock on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California

See also

• Clock tower