Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-27
FACTS ABOUT TOWER CLOCKS.
Interesting WI a chfnery in a New York
Clock StOre-,Ehe Changes That Have
Taken Place in the Business.
New York Sun
New York Sun.

Many people passing through Mas
saa street, pause moment at clock
store, and peer through one of the
large plate glass windows at piece Of
machinery within. It consists of large
cogwheels, rollers, and other parts,
the names OF which are merely tech
nical, which rest on an iron bed. It
is a mystery, for most people are I'M
able to imagine what such heavy
machinery is doing in a clock store,
inasmuch as it is far beyond the size
of ordinary clock works, and totally
different in appearance. A reporter
for the Sun, who saw the machinery
the other day, entered the store, and
inquired:
'That's the machinery for large
tower, clock" replied an energetic
looking young man to whom the re-
porter was referred. IT don't believe
you see such machinery in any other
store In the country excepting In our
Boston store and in that of a Connect
cut manufacturer. And yet think Of
all the tower-clocks there are in the
United States"
"Were many Of them made by
you?"
"A vast majority of those put in
during the past forty years. We have
been in business a little longer than
that. The founder Of our company
was the first clock manufacturer in
the country = that is, he was the first
man to turn out clocks by machinery.
One of our earliest tower~clocks is that
in the st. Lawrence hall, Toronto,
which we put up during 1913. Before
that time most of the tower clocks for
American buildings came from Eng
land. That was the case with the old
est tower clock here"
''The Trinity clock?"
''No. The Trinity clock is popular
ly supposed to be the Oldest in the
city, but it is not. That of st. Paul's
church, on Broadway, near Fulton
street, is the Oldest. It was made in
London in 1898. Tt is not a fine clock;
the several dials often contradict one
another to the extent of several min
utes It is rather startling to pass the
church at five minutes to IL a. M,
and after taking few steps to LOOK up
at the side dial and find it only two
minutes to IL, so that the three MIN
utes have apparently passed while
you took three or four steps The
clock in s.. Johns church, Varick
street, came from London in 1915, and
is a much better piece of workman
ship than that of st. Paul's. The clock
in Trinity church is Of more recent
date. Il was made here in 1876"
81 Judge from what you say that IN
England tower clock manufacture is
an older industry than here?"
ooh, yes; much older. You can
Judge of that when / tell you that the
Westminster clock was built III 1888.
A few years later 8 clock was put up
in Canterbury cathedral, and IN 1917
the Exter cathedral clock was made.
The Westminster clock is the second
largest in the world. In point of size
the great tower clocks Of the world
run as follows: Mechlin (Belgium),
40 feet diameter of face; Westminis>
ter, 90 feet and 6 inches; St. Prul's
cathedral, II feet; Shannon church
CCork), 16 feet; Pancras station, IL
feet and 9 inches; Scarborough. Old
church, II feet; st. James (Piccadilly)
10 feet, and Kings Cross station, Bow
church, Manchester infrlnary, and
Royal Exchange, each feet"
''Have we nothing to compare with
any of these in this country"
II am happy to say that we have
put up two clocks In this city which
rank with the Scarborough Old
church clock. They are twelve feet
in diameter. One of these Is the pro