Tick Tock

The Crosby Clock also known as the Greenleaf Jacobs Clock

A close encounter with a bus in 1974  almost completely destroyed the Crosby Clock that had been erected in 1901 by Jacobs Jewelers.  The Jewelry store installed the clock at their original location on Bay Street after a fire that destroyed much of the city to symbolize Jacksonville rising from the ashes of a catastrophe.  Built by Seth Thomas of Connecticut in 1901 at a cost of $1200 the clock is one of 12 that remain out of the 100 that were manufactured.  It was moved from Bay Street to Forsyth Street and then again in 1930 to its current location at corner of Laura and Adams Streets.  

As a symbol of recovery from tragedy itself, there was no way that Jacobs Jewelers would allow the clock to go unprepared after the bus incident.  Thomas White, a restoration artist, was commissioned with the two year repair that required gluing hundreds of minuscule pieces together as well as making some improvements.  The repair process included new lights, new paint, a GPS antenna for more accurate time and a sturdier base for the 2.2 ton fifteen foot clock.  The clock is so impressive that I completely forgot to check out the jewelry in the window! 

Joy