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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Barthman's Sidewalk Clock
AO Edited

Barthman's Sidewalk Clock

A clock set into the concrete outside a Manhattan jeweler has been telling time underfoot for over a century.

New York, New York

Added By
Eric Grundhauser
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Barthman’s Sidewalk Clock   Ed Nix on Flickr
Barthman’s Sidewalk Clock   Satish Viswanath on Flickr
Clock on 2023-04-18.   jddarcy / Atlas Obscura User
March 2022   Helen Rose / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
The clock has been covered up   mikeryan / Atlas Obscura User
  epfromer / Atlas Obscura User
Someone put a sticker on it…we tried to rip it off   scottakantor / Atlas Obscura User
The Barthman’s Clock at night   MAGNETs / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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About

At the dawn of the 20th century it didn't take as much effort to garner the attention of the buying public as it does today, but the core principle remains the same: novelty. The titular owner of William Barthman Jeweler had a clear grasp of this concept when he and an associate installed a working clock on the sidewalk outside their store.

Barthman, along with one of his employees, Frank Homm, created the timepiece in 1896, but not as it exists today. The original clock was a mechanical jump hour clock with numbered tablets that would flip over on the hour. It also had a little light bulb that would illuminate the clock at night. In the beginning, as passersby trampled across the clock face it was met with surprise and delight by turn-of-the-century shoppers. Unfortunately, the fatal flaw of the original contraption was that it was custom-designed by Barthman and Homm, and they were the only ones who knew how to fix it. Thus when the clock began to malfunction in later years, the attraction became an embarrassment, and the operators of Barthman's store would cover it with cardboard each day to hide their shame.

Unable to make the clock work with Homm's special touch (Homm passed away in 1917), the only solution they could come up with was to replace the clock entirely. The new clock was a more traditional analog dial, ringed with a classy brass compass rose. With the installation of the new clock, and the lucky popularity of a photographer's snapshot of the clock, the sidewalk novelty that had vexed them for years had once again become a popular feature for Barthman's.

The sidewalk clock still sits outside Barthman's on the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane in lower Manhattan, just as it has for a century. It is estimated that over 50,000 people walk over the timepiece each day, not once stopping to ask the time. 

Update January 2019: Barthman’s Manhattan location is relocating but the clock remains and is now visible again.

Update April 2021: Barthman's Manhattan location has relocated to 20 Broad St, but the clock is still in its original location.

Update December 2024: the clock window still exists but the clock face is papered over under the glass cover.

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Clocks Roadside Attractions Aletrail

Know Before You Go

The clock is very easy to miss. You will find it, not in front of the old 176 Broadway location but on the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane.

Community Contributors

Added By

EricGrundhauser

Edited By

hana, klkmckay, reunionswamphen, edmaldonado629...

  • hana
  • klkmckay
  • reunionswamphen
  • edmaldonado629
  • SEANETTA
  • MAGNETs
  • jddarcy
  • scottakantor
  • epfromer
  • mikeryan
  • cait7911
  • Helen Rose

Published

November 20, 2014

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  • http://www.hodinkee.com/features/sidewalk-clock
  • http://observer.com/2014/09/century-old-clock-ticks-away-in-manhattan-sidewalk/
  • http://www.1000thingsnyc.com/sidewalk-clock/
Barthman's Sidewalk Clock
176 Broadway
New York, New York
United States
40.709807, -74.009486
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