Supporting History

Making Time for Preservation

October, 2001

Whether associated with a school, church, commercial or civic building, a clock tower is often one of the most prevalent features of a community's skyline. In the days before inexpensive electric watches, a glance in the direction of the nearest clock tower would give a hurried citizen the current time. The State Historical Fund has given both money and time to the preservation of clock towers and, if an integral part of a building, time pieces themselves.

Because clock towers are tall structures, they are subject to the elements. Over time the roof deck on the clock tower at Denver's South High School had begun to fail, leaking water into the interior and jeopardizing the clock works and loosening interior plaster. South High Alumni and Friends, Inc., obtained a State Historical Fund grant to alleviate this problem. Contractors installed a new roof on the observation deck that would be suitable for pedestrian access and updated electrical outlets and lighting in the stairway and clock room for safety.

The terra-cotta clock tower at Denver's East High School is in relatively good shape but had also begun to leak. Repairs and maintenance would be the best solution to extending its serviceable life and preventing costly future problems. The Fund awarded the Denver Public School District a grant that covered the cost of architectural and design services. Working drawings were then used to restore this Denver landmark while field investigation and laboratory analysis identified several repair items for the preservation of the terra cotta.

Since 1923, the clock tower of the McPhee and McGinnity Building (also known as the Styro Building) has been a landmark at the corner of Broadway and Walnut in Denver. Though once part of a thriving industrial area, the neighborhood and the building had fallen on hard times. After twenty years of abandonment plans are now underway to convert the structure into housing, reflecting the upbeat attitude found in the newly proposed Ballpark Historic District. With the sponsorship of Historic Denver, several partners secured a State Historical Fund grant to restore exterior features of the building, including the clock tower. Exterior masonry will be repaired, the domed metal roof will be restored and the clock will be returned to operation.

Though certainly more than just a clock tower, Denver's D & F Tower is one of the city's more recognizable landmarks and was the tallest structure in Colorado for decades. The adjoining commercial structure was demolished in the early 1970s but the tower itself was saved. Near the top of the tower are large 15-foot clock faces mounted on all four sides. Originally these clocks were operated by a 1910 Seth Thomas Tower Clock mechanism mounted on the 18th floor. This mechanism, one of the largest in the nation, was moved to the lobby in 1980. Several State Historical Fund grants have been awarded to the preservation of the tower. One grant calls for reactivating the Tower Clock in the lobby, installing a replicated, though smaller, clock face and an interpretation of the Tower Clock concept. Part of another grant included internal lighting of the now electrified tower clock faces that will allow them to once again shine into the wee hours of the Denver night.

The Weld County Court House in Greeley was built in 1917. In addition to the beautiful marble and stained glass, the building contains a unique pneumatic timekeeping system. A master clock that resembles a grandfather clock sits in the second-floor lobby and drives eight secondary or slave clocks located in hallways, courtrooms, vestibules, and offices throughout the building.

Air pressure drives the internal components of the master clock and is transferred to the secondary clocks through a series of metal tubes built into the interior walls. Bladders, pumps, and gears in each secondary clock receive this air pressure and activate the hands every sixty seconds. Each of the secondary clocks has a unique clock face or decorative surround. The pneumatic system was abandoned in 1973 when the clock system was converted to electric. The Fund participated in a recent rehabilitation of the court house, which included the clock system. Rubber components were replaced, and mechanisms cleaned and adjusted. This wonderful system, one of the few surviving in the country, now ticks away as it did when first installed over eighty years ago.

Clock towers hold special memories to those who have worked or lived near them. Their images appear on artwork, letterheads and advertisements. History is defined with the passing of time and the State Historical Fund is proud to help these valuable resources keep ticking.

BY LYLE MILLER, State Historical Fund Technical Advisor