Jessop's Clock
Jessop's Clock is a large outdoor pendulum clock located in San Diego, California, USA. It was commissioned in 1905 by one of the city's noted jewelers, Joseph Jessop.
The clock has been a San Diego landmark for more than 100 years. After standing on the sidewalk in front of the Jessop and Sons jewelry store in Downtown San Diego for most of the 20th century, it was moved in 1984 to Horton Plaza, a multistory downtown shopping center, and remains there today.
The clock tells the local time in hours, minutes and seconds, as well as the day of the week and the month of the year. There are 21 dials in all, 12 of which tell the time in different locations around the world.
Claude D. Ledger, an employee of Jessop's jewelry store, was assigned to build the clock. After fifteen months' work, the clock was completed in 1907. It won a gold medal at that year's Sacramento State Fair.[1]
The clock is 22 feet (6.7 m) high and extends an additional 12 feet (3.7 m) below street level to house the movement. It is wound automatically by an electric motor every eight hours.[2]
It is reported that on the day of Ledger's death, Jessop's clock stopped working for reasons unknown.[3] It was restarted and continued keeping time on the streets of San Diego.
In April 2009 it stopped working. A few months later it was given a two-month refurbishing and cleaning,[4] paid for by the Jessop family, which still owns the clock. Joseph Jessop's 98-year-old great-grandson, David Jessop Jr., officially restarted the 102-year-old clock on November 5, 2009.
[edit] References
- ^ San Diego Daily Photo: Jessop's clock
- ^ Journal of San Diego History, Winter 1987
- ^ Journal of San Diego History, Winter 1987
- ^ San Diego News Network, November 5, 2009
