LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In 1976, the 40-foot high Louisville Clock, also called the "Derby Clock", made its debut in downtown’s Theater Square near Broadway.
The clock charmed crowds who came to marvel at its fanciful characters.
Celebrated Louisville sculptor Barney Bright was commissioned by the city to create the clock six years earlier, designing it to showcase iconic Louisville landmarks and personalities through a Derby race.
The competitors? George Rogers Clark, Daniel Boone, Thomas Jefferson, King Louis XVI and the Belle of Louisville.
It also featured notable Louisvillians watching from the sidelines including President Zachary Taylor, D.W. Griffith, Mary Anderson, Henry Watterson and trumpeter Oliver Cooke.
The clock would start and stop several times over the years and fell into disrepair, facing a hefty maintenance price tag.
It was in pieces by 2005 when Louisville entrepreneur and business owner Adam Burkle brought the clock and started a restoration project to fix it at Bowman Field.
“You would think that this clock was literally in Louisville for a hundred years, because everybody who comes up and stops by here has a fond memory of what it was doing and when it was doing,” he said. “It’s the city’s clock – it’s the Louisville Clock.”
The clock underwent years of extensive renovations and the repair work came from the heart.
Many passionate volunteers helped with the rebuilding project. Seven years later, the clock was on the move.
The 6.5-ton time teller was loaded onto a truck for the trek from Bowman Field to South Fourth Street with a special police escort down the interstate. Movers had a time trying to turn from Broadway to Fourth Street with inches to squeeze through.
For project manager Steve Wiser, the moment of the clock’s return was the fulfillment of a promise he made to Bright.
“I gave him my word before he passed [that] we will get this done for him – so, it’s a personal achievement for me to get this back downtown just for him,” Wiser said.
Once it was returned to its glory, the celebrations began once more. After years of disrepair, the Louisville Clock made its triumphant return to Theater Square.
That return would be short lived. The clock became the victim of graffiti and vandalism, even one of its racing figures having its leg removed.
The clock would be plague by operational problems and eventually removed.
For the lucky few who saw it work, the Louisville Clock was truly magical. Hopefully one day it will run again.
The clock made way for the expansion of Kindred Healthcare’s corporate headquarters. It was placed in storage where it remains to this day.
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