Wellman moved his store at least four times over the years, and he always brought the clock with him. It is one of only 60 known Brown Street Clocks remaining in the United States today. Wellman bought his clock from the now-defunct Brown Street Clock Company in Monessen, Pennsylvania for around $300. It was first installed by Henry Wellman, a (you guessed it) jeweler to promote his store, H.E. The Main Street Sidewalk Clock in Alhambra has been around since 1913. Broadway Street Clock, 2423 N Broadway, Lincoln Heights.The glass covering the face is broken in a few places and stickered over in others, it’s got a deep dent on the street-facing side, and its hands no longer seem to move. But the clock has again fallen into a state of disrepair. Today, the Broadway Street Clock, emblazoned with “Lincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce” across its face, stands just down the street the unassuming entrance to the Los Angeles headquarters of the Adventurers Club. So the Lincoln Heights Chamber of Commerce cashed in a $41,000 insurance payout and contracted the Verdin Company, historic clock-makers from Ohio, to build a new 14-foot clock in the style of the original. Then it suffered the indignity of having its parts harvested by scavengers. In 2006, the Broadway Street Clock was damaged by a film crew. The Broadway Street Clock has seen better days. Like the Stromberg Clock, it originally served as street-side advertising for a jewelry store. ![]() That distinction falls to the Broadway Street Clock in Lincoln Heights, which was erected in 1910. GPS: 34.10170423, -118.33080819 / what3words: ///Īlthough the Stromberg Clock is the most famous of the Los Angeles sidewalk clocks, it’s not the oldest.William Stromberg Clock, 6439 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood.The Stromberg Clock has been listed as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. The William Stromberg Clock’s faces: east (left) and west (right). Today, some of the neon letters have broken off and the clock no longer keeps time - the west-facing side is stopped at 4:20 while the east-facing face perpetually reads 3:17 (making this broken clock is right four times a day). The clock has been replaced a number of times throughout the years, and the current design, which features “Stromberg Jewelers” done up in neon along the top, is thought to date back to the 1980s. Photo via Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection, Security National Bank Photo Collection.īecause the clock is located along such a highly trafficked street, you may recognize its distinctive profile from its many appearances in car chase scenes (especially in early silent movies) filmed along Hollywood Boulevard. Note the William Stromberg Clock in the lower left corner. Hollywood Boulevard and the Warner Theater circa 1930. To promote the shop and attract new clients, Stromberg erected an elaborate clock outside his shop. He hoped to capitalize on his reputation - and cater to the numerous movie stars of the day. ![]() ![]() In addition to a 2700-seat theater, the complex housed Warner Brothers Radio Station KFWB and included ground-floor retail space along Hollywood Boulevard.Īn enterprising jeweler by the name of William Stromberg, who ran a jewelry shop on Western Avenue, opened a second branch of his well-regarded store in one of these ground floor spaces. The Hollywood Pacific originally opened as the Warner Theater in 1928. ![]() Originally dating back to the early 1930s, the William Stromberg Clock still stands in front of the shuttered Hollywood Pacific Theatre (which closed its doors in 1994) near the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue. The William Stromberg Sidewalk Clock on Hollywood Boulevard. Probably the best-known of all the Los Angeles Sidewalk Clocks, the William Stromberg Clock stands in the middle of Hollywood, right on Hollywood Boulevard, in front of one of the first movie big-ticket houses in Los Angeles. Today, only three of these historic sidewalk clocks remain in Los Angeles. These towering time-keeping devices served as both a public service and a means of advertising the adjoining store. Once upon a time, in the days of a more walkable Los Angeles, jewelry stores would install free-standing clocks on the sidewalks outside their storefronts.
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