Photos 14 Jun 2009 08:15 am

Sundayphoto Clocks

- I recently ran into a brand new clock that was built into a local building. This took me by surprise; it’s not something that architects are currently incorporating into their buildings.


(Click any image to enlarge.)

It’s a simple clock, nothing ornate, but it did the job.

I began to look for other clocks on my path in Manhattan. There aren’t too many. Yes, there are some notables like the clocks at Grand Central or Penn Station. But I was looking for the ordinary. Then I saw one in Queens in Astoria.

It wasn’t very pretty, but there it was. This gave me the idea of mentioning it to my friend, Steve Fisher, who lives in Maspeth, Queens. I thought he might have more than I on his path. He did. These are the clocks he found:


From Steve: Off I went in search of clocks. Close to home,
there are two clocks on the Maspeth Federal Savings Bank building
in Maspeth that are less than remarkable, but it was a start.


A drive into Manhattan led me to my old stomping grounds, Cooper Union.
Parking a few blocks south of Astor Place on the Bowery, I immediately
came across an outdoor restaurant with a neat clock.


You can also see Cooper’s clock in the distance of the above image.


Across from the school, on the west side of Fourth Ave, the clock on the
Carl Fischer building has not worked from at least 1969
when I first attended Cooper.


The clock has been cleaned up, but, trust me, it still doesn’t work.
I like the fact that you can view its hand from along the face of the building.


A little further up town, at 14th Street, there is a great clock
on each face of the Con Ed Building (is it still called that?)


Heading back toward Queens, I came upon this clock atop a building on Houston Street near Essex Street. Its face numbers are very playful. (Sorry about the lack of sharpness – it was extremely hazy at that moment.)


I took this photo of the HSBC’s clock (the building once had a terrific
domed interior space) while driving across the Williamsburg Bridge)


Finally, I came across this one today on 69th Street back in Queens.
I liked the way the blue-green glow of the clocks picks up the green
signal light. And notice the times are close, but not exactly the same.

7 Responses to “Sundayphoto Clocks”

  1. on 14 Jun 2009 at 10:43 am 1.richard o'connor said …

    The Red Square clock on Houston is designed by Tibor Kalman.

    When the billion condo went up in Astor Place, I was certain they’d take down the Carl Fisher clock, if not simply obscure it. The clock has outlasted the music store by over a decade now.

  2. on 15 Jun 2009 at 3:10 am 2.daniel thomas macinnes said …

    These are great photos. I always enjoy your photo blogging. I only wish these ideas could find their way into your animations; if we could only secure the necessary funding to finance all our dreams.

    Say, I have a question to ask that’s slightly on/off topic. Could you take your camera outside tomorrow (Monday) and show photos of people wearing green? Many of us are urging people to wear green in support of the people of Iran, and their “Green Revolution.” It has been a long and hard weekend over there, and all of us are playing our part to show support and make a difference.

    I know, of course, wearing green in public is a minor gesture, but minor gestures are just the thing that can change history. Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat is the greatest example for me. But if we in the arts and blogging communities can help out, that would be tremendous.

    I would love to see what ideas the art and animation communities could conjure up. Every one of you are so talented and inventive. Let’s all find something that we can do, today, right now.

    Thank you so much for allowing me to preach on my soapbox here. And thanks again for all the terrific photos and all you’ve done.

  3. on 15 Jun 2009 at 7:44 am 3.Stephen MacQuignon said …

    There is a clock I think on Park Ave somewhere in the thirties. I’ll have to snap a picture of it next time I walk by. It’s a brass statue and to my surprise it works

  4. on 15 Jun 2009 at 8:44 am 4.Robert Cowan said …

    Great images! Excellent idea.

  5. on 15 Jun 2009 at 12:19 pm 5.Michael said …

    Daniel, Given what’s going on in Iran, Black may be a more appropriate color today. It’s obviously turning dicatatorship.

  6. on 15 Jun 2009 at 3:04 pm 6.daniel thomas macinnes said …

    Don’t despair, Michael! We’re witnessing a revolution. I was feeling worried as I went to bed last night, but today’s developments are giving me hope. We all feel sorrow for the suffering of these people, but this is how a revolution takes place. The dictatorship of the last 30 years is, I hope, coming to an end.

    The amazing thing is that this is an Internet Revolution – Twitter, Flikr, Facebook, YouTube, weblogs, cell phones. These tools made everything possible, and foiled the stolen election, coverup, and crackdown. So despite what has happened, I have great hope. I believe we will win in the end.

    My apologies for taking over these comments over here. These are really some terrific clocks.

  7. on 15 Jun 2009 at 3:19 pm 7.karen said …

    Hi,
    I really like your photos, especially the first one which is a mobatime clock, can you send me a copy of that photo? And/or what is its location? By the way, we made the clocks with the blue-green neon for Maran’s Auto Body — a controller that would keep the time the same on both clocks is an option that was not chosen for this project.
    thanks!

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