E. J. Towle Clock/West Earth Street Clock (ca. 1915)

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406 Dexter Avenue N

Cast-iron street clocks, once commonplace, have become increasingly rare. This is one of only 10 or 11 still extant within Seattle.

Probably built by the Mayer Company of Seattle, this clock has graced the northeast corner of Dexter Avenue N and Harrison Street since sometime after 1936. By that year Joseph Mayer had moved his company to this address. Mayer committed suicide in this building in June 1937, but his business (renamed the Northern Stamping and Manufacturing Company) survived and continued to use the building.

The E. J. Towle Company was also a tenant at 406 Dexter Avenue N. By 1985 the building housed the West Earth Company. The clockworks, once visible within the clock's pedestal, are now hidden, and an electrical operational system has replaced the original weight-driven mechanism.

By Paula Becker, September 25, 2012

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West Earth Street Clock, Dexter Avenue N, Seattle, ca. 1960
Courtesy Mike Cirelli

West Earth Street Clock, 406 Dexter Avenue N, Seattle, July 27, 2007
HistoryLink.org Photo by Paula Becker