Once in a lifetime

Famous Large Outdoor Clocks In North America

There are many famous tourist destinations across the United States; the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Time Square, the Las Vegas Strip and Ellis Island, for example. Then there are some tourists that enjoy traveling the country to see a specific type of landmark, such as a lighthouse. Another type of landmark with multiple locations tourists can travel to are large outdoor clocks. Not only can several of these be found in the United States, but across the world as well.

Located in Jersey City, New Jersey, the Colgate Clock boasts a 50 feet diameter. The original Colgate Clock was built in 1906 and sat atop the Colgate-Palmolive headquarters. A replacement clock was constructed in 1924 to take the place of the original. This large outdoor clock has been relocated several times and now resides in an empty lot on the Hudson River waterfront.

With 19 different dials and displays, the Dreger Clock, which can be seen in California, tells local time as well as the time in 12 international cities. It also shows the date, day of the week and the phases of the moon. This clock was originally constructed between 1928 and 1933. Its current location is in the Buena Park Historical District in Buena Park, California.

Also located in California is Jesop's Clock. This large outdoor clock has long been an icon for the city of San Diego. It displays the time in hours, minutes and seconds along with the month and day of the week. It has 21 dials, 12 of which are used to display the time of various international cities. The current location of this landmark is in Horton Plaza, a shopping center in downtown San Diego.


Standing near the Senate Chamber, the Ohio Clock, also called the Senate Clock, is eleven-feet tall and was constructed between 1815 and 1817. This clock is wound each week in order to keep time accurately. When the government shutdown in 2013, there were no curators around to wind the clock, so it too shutdown. It officially stopped on October 9, 2013 at 12:14 p.m.

In downtown Dubuque, Iowa stands the Town Clock. The original version of this historic landmark collapsed in the 1870s, so a second version was constructed in 1873. This large outdoor clock has now stood over the city for more than 130 years.

In addition to the above mentioned famous large outdoor clocks in North America, there are others that can be seen around the world including the Prague Astronomical Clock in Prague, Czech Republic; Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; or Big Ben in London, England. These are just a couple mentions among many.

National Time & Signal has been delivering various clock solutions for over 80 years. These solutions include large outdoor clocks, tower clocks, fire alarm systems, school clocks and more. Explore these solutions in greater detail by following this link.