Astounding Timepieces

Look up from the busy streets to discover how time is kept!

This was once the largest four-sided clock in the world (yes, even bigger than Big Ben).

An ingenious way to immortalize the inventor of universal time.

The world's most comprehensive collection of Willard timepieces is a celebration of early American clockmaking.

A 19th-century relic of timekeeping.

From atop a hill at the center of Cape Town, a cannon has been signalling the time since 1806.

For more than half a millennia, this automaton has rung an hourly bell.

The hands on this clock appear to be created by two workers sweeping debris into careful positions.

This 19th-century clock has been restored to help withstand the harsh environment of its seaside home.

At the top of the hour, figures of the London department store's two co-founders emerge and bow to each other.

This stone tower was built in the late 19th century to signal the time to ships in the water.

A pair of club-wielding guardians stand watch over London's first public clock to feature a minute hand.

Only a few pieces remain of a grand 16th-century water clock that once announced the changing hours with the sound of bells, gongs, and drums.

The world's largest sundial can cast a shadow more than 1,600 feet long.

At the top of the hour, this steam-powered clock's eight brass whistles play "Back Home Again in Indiana."

This historic timepiece was a popular meeting place for romantic rendezvous in the 1960s.