Colgate Clock (Jersey City) facts for kids

The clock in 2009

The Colgate Clock is a giant, eight-sided clock. It faces the Hudson River near Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey. This clock is really big, about 50 feet (15 meters) wide! It stands about 1,300 feet south of where the main offices of Colgate-Palmolive used to be. Colgate-Palmolive is a company that makes many products we use every day, like toothpaste. They moved from this area in 1985.

History of the Colgate Clock

The Colgate Clock you see today was built in 1924. It was placed on top of the Colgate factory at 85-99 Hudson Street in Jersey City, New Jersey. This clock replaced an older one that was made in 1906 for Colgate's 100th birthday. That first clock was designed by a Colgate engineer named Warren Davey. It was built by the Seth Thomas Clock Company.

After the new clock was built in Jersey City, the older 1906 clock was moved. It found a new home at another Colgate factory in Clarksville, Indiana. For many years, from the 1930s until 1976, a man named John A. Winters took care of the Jersey City clock.

By 2005, the Colgate Clock stood on an empty piece of land. All the other buildings that were part of the Colgate complex were torn down in 1985 when the company left. The clock is right on the Hudson River waterfront. It is about 100 meters (330 feet) south of the Goldman Sachs Tower. This tower used to be the tallest skyscraper in New Jersey.

The building of the Goldman Sachs Tower in the early 2000s meant the clock had to be moved. It was shifted southward to where it is now. When it moved, the Colgate advertisement on it was made smaller. This was done to follow a law that limits billboards along the Hudson River. As part of the agreement for the move, Goldman Sachs now helps to maintain the clock.

In 2013, the clock got a makeover! It was fixed up and given new LED lights. Then, it was put back on the waterfront near the Goldman Sachs Tower.

Gallery

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  The original location of the clock

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  As seen from Battery Park City

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  The rear of the clock, with Lower Manhattan in the background

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  The clock at night, with the Goldman Sachs Tower in the foreground

See also

In Spanish: Reloj Colgate (Jersey City) para niños