Jacksonville Architecture

During August of 1901, the Jacksonville City Council passed an ordinance that allowed the Greenleaf & Crosby Company to erect this street clock in front of their new jewelry store at 41 West Bay Street. The clock was estimated to cost $1,200 and was said to "be the handsomest of its kind in the South, and it will compare favorably with any of the large public clocks in northern or western cities." Although identical street clocks were erected in other American cities, this ornate timepiece standing over fifteen feet tall gave a touch of sophistication to the re-emerging Jacksonville street scene. The cast-iron and bronze clock remained in front of the Bay Street store until 1927, when it was moved to this site and installed in front of Greenleaf & Crosby's new building (D-72). In 1974 a city bus collided with the clock, shattering the Ionic column on which it was perched and smashing the one-ton globe onto the sidewalk. Jacobs Jewelers commissioned restoration artist Thomas A. White to put the hundreds of pieces back together. Now restored to its former elegance, it stands as one of Jacksonville's most frequently observed landmarks.