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The move helped increase the visibility of the Town Clock, where it now served as the centerpiece at special events held at Town Clock Plaza. Otherwise, most of the traffic had moved out to the west end of the city. Main street had become an office park. In 1989, concerns were voiced about vibrations
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The
Durrant Architecture firm of Dubuque designed a pre-caast four-column pedestal that was then placed in the plaza. The actual tower was brought to the site on Feb 12, 1971, and bolted to the pedestal. The faces of the clock were placed at the new location on Feb 16, 1971. Afterwards the cupola was
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On May 25, 1872, several people noticed cracks forming in the walls of the store building. Workers attempted to clear the location where they expected the clock to fall. At 5:16 PM, both the clock and the John Bell store collapsed, killing a child and two women who were inside the store at the time.
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and then "The Odeon", a German theater. That was followed by the post office, and then a concert hall before it became the home of the John Bell
Company. This first clock was placed on a tower of the building at a cost of $ 3,000. All men who had pledged at least $ 25 formed the Dubuque Town Clock
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trend in the 1970s, the "Your Town Clock
Committee" was organized. Their goal was to have the clock moved from its location at 825 Main Street to the new Town Clock Plaza, which the city council approved. The cost for the move was $ 70,000, which was raised through donations raised over a 14-month
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Dubuque residents soon decided to replace the collapsed Town Clock. George Wood, who had owned the collapsed building, wanted the new town clock on his property, but John Bell was not interested in being a part of the project. Wood decided to build the new building on his own, while the tower was
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For a number of years, the clock had a mechanical movement. Two employees spent an hour and a half winding cranks that were attached to the weights, which would allow the clock to operate for one week. In 1923, the Town Clock was almost dismantled when the financial cost of repairs led the city
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An investigation into the matter reported that the foundation of the Bell Store was not sufficient to handle the clock's weight. It was also reported that construction next door was the primary cause of the accident. Losses from the disaster were estimated to be between $ 15,000 and $ 20,000.
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In recent years, Main Street from Fifth street to Ninth street was reopened to automobile traffic after it was determined that the pedestrian plaza no longer was an effective option for the downtown area. This would have left the Town Clock standing in the middle of Main Street, but a small
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council to decide to remove the clock. However, the council changed their minds when a poll found that a majority of citizens favored keeping and maintaining it. In 1927, the clock was electrified by
Interstate Power Company when a new Seth Thomas movement was placed in the clock.
56:'s Naylor & Co. and its frame was designed by architect William Longhurst. George D. Wood gave a ten-year lease to the city for the clock to be placed on the John Bell and Company Store building which they owned. The building had originally housed a
31:. The clock has stood over the city for over 140 years. The present clock is the second "Town Clock"; the first collapsed in the 1870s, killing three people. The building on which it originally stood is listed on the
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The city paid the $ 5,309.46 cost for the new clock, which began operating on April 17, 1873. The bell, which weighs over 4,200 pounds (1,900 kg), was cast by Naylor & Co. and the clock was built by
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placed at the new site, which completed the move. After the reassembly was complete, the clock stood about 108 feet above the street, which was about two feet taller than at its previous location.
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was built around the clock. The clock continues to stand as a distinctive
Dubuque landmark. Due to the cold it was frozen at 7:33, however it has been operational year round for several years.
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made by loud music and dancers possibly causing damage to the pedestal or the clock. The city studied the problem and stated its confidence that the Town Clock was structurally sound.
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which was used to observe the passage of stars. This provided accurate time readings to within half of a second and was always kept accurate within two seconds.
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paid for through subscriptions. He cleared the remainder of the collapsed building and the neighboring Dr. Lay residence. A partnership between architects
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and Edward
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building was designed to support the tower, which rose 58 feet (18 m) above the building.
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The present town clock was originally located on top of this building.
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National
Register of Historic Places listings in Dubuque County, Iowa
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Dr. Asa Horr began the fundraising effort to build a town clock in
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firm Howard & Co. Time was recorded via a subterranean
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Washington Street and East 22nd Street
Historic District
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712:Seminary Hill Residential Historic District
667:Fenelon Place Residential Historic District
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92:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
27:is a large clock that stands in downtown
737:Washington Residential Historic District
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742:West Eleventh Street Historic District
443:"National Register Information System"
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896:St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church
808:Johann Christian Frederick Rath House
692:Lock and Dam No. 11 Historic District
677:Holy Ghost Catholic Historic District
657:Dubuque Millworking Historic District
35:, but the clock tower itself is not.
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672:Four Mounds Estate Historic District
494:National Register of Historic Places
448:National Register of Historic Places
61:Company to oversee its maintenance.
33:National Register of Historic Places
854:George W. Rogers Company Shot Tower
727:Upper Main Street Historic District
722:Upper Iowa Street Historic District
424:The History of Dubuque County, Iowa
662:Eagle Point Park Historic District
334:The clock as seen from Main Street
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702:Old Main Street Historic District
595:Interstate Power Company Building
600:Roshek Brothers Department Store
585:Diamond Jo Boat Store and Office
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52:in 1864. The clock was built by
1002:Italianate architecture in Iowa
697:Loras College Historic District
682:Jackson Park Historic District
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901:St. Patrick's Catholic Church
512:Carnegie-Stout Public Library
322:then synchronized the clock.
161:Show map of the United States
687:Langworthy Historic District
73:United States historic place
948:Dunleith and Dubuque Bridge
891:St. John's Episcopal Church
652:Cathedral Historic District
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532:Julien Dubuque Monument
204:42.501028°N 90.667639°W
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559:Dubuque YMCA Building
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453:National Park Service
394:National Park Service
390:"Town Clock Building"
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248:Fridolin J. Heer, Sr.
209:42.501028; -90.667639
69:The Second Town Clock
58:Congregational church
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1012:Clock towers in Iowa
844:Dubuque Star Brewery
827:Industrial buildings
568:Commercial buildings
44:The First Town Clock
884:Religious buildings
818:J.H. Thedinga House
636:Sacred Heart School
610:Town Clock Building
527:Dubuque County Jail
388:James E. Jacobsen.
289:Town Clock Building
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84:Town Clock Building
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312:transit instrument
296:Fridolin Heer, Sr.
223:less than one acre
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768:Mathias Ham House
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397:. Retrieved
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239:L.T. Farwell
195:90°40′03.5″W
192:42°30′03.7″N
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590:German Bank
207: /
183:Coordinates
991:Categories
552:Clubhouses
399:2017-01-06
368:References
300:Italianate
260:Italianate
25:Town Clock
624:Education
338:With the
244:Architect
915:Theatres
813:Redstone
343:period.
273:01001488
236:Built by
171:Location
39:History
751:Houses
406:photos
308:Boston
868:Parks
505:Civic
431:–694.
404:with
228:Built
231:1873
220:Area
23:The
496:in
429:692
268:No.
993::
451:.
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412:^
392:.
376:^
486:e
479:t
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402:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
