1930's Neon tower Clock

[ElectricTime]

An interesting tower clock manufactured by Electric Time Company, Inc. I believe in the 1930s located in Arlington, Massachusetts.

 

[PatH]

Very cool! Do you know how big it was? The clock itself reminds me of the Seth Thomas clock that for many years was the largest clock in the world.

 

[ElectricTime]

Very cool! Do you know how big it was? The clock itself reminds me of the Seth Thomas clock that for many years was the largest clock in the world.

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I have an article written by an engineer on the commissioning of the Colgate clock - I will have to find it. I believe it started running backward when first put on test.


The Clock was 16' in diameter and blown down in the hurricane of 1938.

 

[PatH]

Wow! Do you know if the clock was restored and returned to its "home"?

 

[ElectricTime]

I have an article written by an engineer on the commissioning of the Colgate clock - I will have to find it. I believe it started running backward when first put on test.


The Clock was 16' in diameter and blown down in the hurricane of 1938.

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The movement might have been reused at another location - I don't think the sign was ever recreated.

 

[Jim DuBois]

one of the larger tower clocks are the 22-foot dials (4) on the Customs House in Boston. It is a Howard movement that urban legend says was never warranted by Howard as they said it was too small a movement to reliably move the 11' plus hands in the weather in Boston, and what with pigeon loading etc. David Hochstrasser or his brother gave us a very nice tour of the clock soon after they restored it. My 83-year-old father-in-law (Rodney Huggins) went with us. Sorry about the very poor-quality photo. I understand the 8 replacement hands were made of fiberglass "to add lightness" for the movement. These hands in wood had a lot of inertia to start and stop. If my math is correct the 4-minute hands move 14" every time the clock ticks. And oh, by the way, the new hands were all gold leafed. What a task that had to be? We went up to the very tip of the tower, there was a Perrigan falcon roosting there with little ones. She was in front of a mirror glass so we were able to get within about a foot of her. One of the best nature moments in my life! And we were able to see the outside of the original dome of the building, it still exists inside of the 1915 updated structure. And the reliability of the clock over the last century suggests E Howard was right and the government was wrong about the size needed for the installation. Update on the hands. It looks like they have been replaced once again, this time with carbon fiber, and sadly, no gold leaf. See more at

Boston Custom House Tower Clock Hands - Lyman-Morse Technologies

Lyman-Morse Technologies built and delivered new clock hands for Boston’s Custom House Tower in time for Christmas 2020.

www.lymanmorsetechnologies.com