February 4, 2012 - Moving Time

In a day when even watches are almost obsolete, the 14 foot, 4 ton Carroll's clock standing outside of Seattle's MOHAI, Museum of History and Industry, seems especially archaic.  The mechanical clock has to be wound once a week.  It was originally installed in downtown Seattle in at 4th Avenue and Pike Street in 1915 at Carroll's Jewelers.  Built by Joseph Mayer, the clock was donated to and later installed at MOHAI in 2008 after Carroll's Jewelers went out of business.

Joseph Mayer and his brother are believed to have made their initial fortunes in the Alaska gold rush days at the end of the 19th century.  They started a jewelry business in 1897, with Joseph forming a separate company in 1922 that focused solely on street clocks.  At one time his clocks graced the streets of dozens of cities up and down the west coast, many have disappeared, although at least 9 have been designated historical landmarks.  The original inner workings of the clock were manufactured by the E. Howard Company of Boston.  The ornate cast iron pedestal and body of the clock were cast at the Pacific Car and Foundry Company, now PACCAR, in Renton, Washington.

MOHAI opened its doors February 15, 1952 in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle.  It is the largest private heritage museum in the state who "collects, preserves and presents the rich history of the Pacific Northwest."  The opening of State Route 520 and its floating bridge across Lake Washington in 1963 forced the museum to alter its entrance.  The museum is being forced to move again due to the widening of SR 520.  The clock will be moving again, this time closer to its original installation site.  MOHAI's new location on the shores of Lake Union north of Seattle's downtown into the renovated Seattle Armory will be ready at the end of 2112.

Another iconic image of Seattle presented at MOHAI includes the giant neon Rainier Beer sign that used to grace the top of its brewery adjacent Interstate 5, just south of downtown Seattle.