The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-17
But It's Hard to
Light City Hall
Clock.
YET ANOTHER PLAN,
Labor Receives a Setback
on Question of Erecting
Public Buildings.

When a plan is finally arranged for
Illuminating the dials of the city hall
clock, members of the city council pub
lie building committee will have alb
sorbed sufficient information on the
subject to make them experts in this
particular branch.
The committee held a long session
last night and talked over various
plans, but at the end of the discussion
had taken no action.
! Other matters considered by the COM
mitteee were the orders introduced a
short time ago, relative to building the
| Grafton street school house and all
other public buildings that may be built
this year by day labor. The commit
tee voted to report recommending mex
| pedient to act on both these orders. the
same action will be recommended on
! the order that the superintendent Of
public buildings be instructed to make
such repairs in the corridors of the
Waldo street police station as will put
them in a healthful condition.
1t was expected that the committee
would take some action on the clock
question, but the matter will go over
| to another meeting.
Henry A. Knight, superintendent of
street ligating Osgood Plummer and a
representative of the E. Howard Watch
and Clack Company of Boston, were
present ut the meeting, and gave the
committee such information as they
possess ON the question.
The plans of the Boston firm consider
cutting into the face of the clock, and
the placing of a glass dial which shall
be brilliantly Illuminated. The idea
in cutting into the face of the clock
being to place the lamps or groups of
lamps used in the illumination, so far
back from the glass dial as to do away
with the effect of pronounced points OF
light, which catch the eye and produce
different degrees of illumination in diff
ferent sections of the dial. By placing
the lights further back an even dis
tribution of light is obtained and a
brilliantly lighted dial results.
The plan of Messrs. Knight and
| Plummer, which was illustrated to the
committee by means of model which
is stored in the basement of the city
hall, does away with the necessity OF
cutting into the face of the clock aside
from the holes necessary for lampsand
bolts used in fastening a dial to the
face of the tower and possibly d
groove cut about the edge of the dial
for the purpose of making it storm
proof.
The model exhibited last night repre-
1 sents a section of glass dial, the exact
| size of that necessary in case such q
dial should be placed. The model pro-
vides merely for Illuminating that por-
ton of the dial where the numerals
appear, but can be so made as to cover
the entire face, instead of a ring of IL
/ Elimination about the dial. The plaT
| as arranged provides for using six TO-
candle power lamps placed at regular
intervals about the rim of the dial. The
lamps are so arranged that the points
of light are not noticeably brilliant, anC
the results obtained by using one small
| candle power lamp to illumine two Sec
tions, or the space taken up by two
sets of numerals, as viewed in the base.
ment, was very satisfactory
The dial is five inches thick and can
| be made thinner if necessary.
1t is said that the four dials using "a
! lamps for lighting purposes can be IL
Illuminated for $400 a year. The plar
for illuminating the dial is the same
as suggested the city hall commission
two years ago by Mr. Plummer, and
embodied in communication addressed
to The Spy, July 49, 1897.
| Members of the committee were
about equally divided so far as taking
action in the matter was concerned. II
was suggested that it would be a good
idea to hang the section of dial out or
the tower some night, so as to see how
it looks from tho street, and this ac-
ton will probably be taken before any
recommendation is made.