Winding New York City's Howard Clock Tower

cazalea · 2012-09-03T06:49:17Z

Join cazalea on a rare tour to wind a 120-year-old Howard tower clock in NYC. Discover its unique mechanics and the dedicated clockmasters.

cazalea

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

25 replies5709 views21 photos

Cazalea shares an extraordinary horological adventure, detailing his experience winding a historic Howard tower clock in a former New York Life building in NYC. This multi-part series offers a rare glimpse into the mechanics and preservation of a monumental timepiece, guided by the city's dedicated clockmasters.

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What's a Tourist Purist to do when visiting NYC?

I did the normal thing and requested info from my peers on this site. Thank you very much for the watch shops, antique shops and other suggestions (Swatch, Wempe, etc.)

Today I'd like to report on the activity suggested by my Chronoswiss-wearing, bi-coastal friend Jane.

She handed me a beer and this book (interesting things to do in NYC).

Wow - get involved in winding a NYC landmark clock! Free. The building was just a few blocks from her apartment in Tribeca.

Here's the Broadway Clock Tower building; former HQ of New York Life:

Here's the clock.

Joining me on this tour are Mrs Cazalea and Jane.

Here's our guide, Forest Markowitz.
Forest used to be a manager of the NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation, and managed their operations in this old building (which was mostly storage).
The walls were painted industrial gray and brown.
Forest discovered marble, tiger oak and beautiful cast pillars underneath, and directed the clean-up and restoration of many rooms.

In the process, he and his friend Marvin Schneider discovered that the Howard tower clock (although stopped for many years) was still intact.
So they cleaned, restored and restarted it. In the process, Marvin eventually became a NYC clockmaster, responsible for many city clocks.

Shall we proceed?
I'm sorry I cannot replicate the heat and humidity for you, but drape a hot wet towel over your head if you want to simulate our actual conditions...
We take elevator the up 12 or 13 floors. Proceed through the AIR gallery. Unlock the secret door.

Go up a few more staircases, and peer into the closet that holds the spare hands, and encloses the bottom of the pendulum.

Climb a few more flights up a rickety winding staircase.

Climbing through the ceiling, we discover the clock.

We find a little wooden room, and inside is the Howard clock movement.

Only the bottom dial and one gear have been replaced, in over 120 years.

Shall we continue? Go on to Part II
This message has been edited by cazalea on 2012-09-03 07:13:00

Key Points from the Discussion

The 120-year-old Howard clock movement is powered by 750-1000 pound weights, pulled up once a week by an old electric motor, and uses original lubricant jars.
The clock's unique mechanism allows it to strike 12 and automatically reset itself after the weights have fully run down and been rewound.
The gravity escapement of old turret clocks offers a gentle, distinct operation compared to the frenetic activity of a watch anchor escapement.
The practice of 'recycling' lubricant by basting chains with drippings from the catch tray highlights the resourceful maintenance of historic mechanisms.
The report brings back memories of similar experiences with large-scale horology, such as the Pantheon's clock restoration in Paris, which faced legal challenges.
The idea of a 'beer-powered' clock, humorously suggested, adds a lighthearted dimension to the discussion of the clock's energy source.

The Discussion

Ares501 - Mr Green

Sep 3, 2012

Awesome so far and it only begins Thank you Mike for showing another facet of my dream city Damjan

cazalea

Sep 3, 2012

Ok, we are in the clock tower. We are inspecting the movement of the Howard clock. They use jars of original lubricant! This 120-yr-old motor winds the clock. It pulls three sets of enormous weights up about 50 feet. The weights power the movement, and the strike. This nifty set of gears transfers the movement out to the four sets of hands in the tower. Forest explains the operation of the clock to the ladies Of course we are not done yet. We've got more climbing to do! Amazing! The bell weighs

cazalea

Sep 3, 2012

Thanks for following along on my New York clock winding tour. Here is the video of the clock As Forest says in the video, after the weights have bottomed out (used up all their energy) and then been rewound, the clock strikes 12 and automatically resets itself for the next strike. It only runs down like this when the clock master is out of town on vacation, riding his bike in the Colorado mountains... (I had visions of thousands of New Yorkers going to lunch 2 hours early, but apparently the str

KIH

Sep 3, 2012

... such thing possible! Great try and report, cazalea! Wonderful found. Thank you for your endeavor in the hot and humid environment. And my hats off to the machine which has been working for a long time in such environment. Excellent! Ken

mkvc

Sep 3, 2012

Thanks for the report. Keep cool if possible.

chaser579

Sep 3, 2012

Having grown up in Queens, New York, I never knew stuff like this could be visited, etc. I now live in Colorado and worked with some of the folks from a local NAWCC chapter on the E. Howard tower clock at South High School in Denver, Colorado, a few years back. Thanks for the pics and the video, amazing!

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