Campus Clock


The campus clock which is located in front of Butler Gymnasium and next to St. Joseph's Oratory, was not the first clock on campus.  The original campus clock was located in a clock tower in Lynch Hall (De La Roche).  On April 18th, 1933 the clock tower in Lynch Hall was struck by lightning, destroying the clock and causing fifty thousand dollars worth of damage to Lynch Hall which was soon reconstructed as De La Roche.  
This statue sat on the site of the clock. It was moved into the Chapel and destroyed in the fire of 1930. A similar view of the clock with St. Joseph's Oratory in the background.

The clock was replaced by one the college bought from a defunct bank in Hornell, New York.  This clock had been inoperative for eight years prior to the purchase, but the friars were confident they could get it up and running again.  With a bit of electrical ingenuity, its battery run system was replaced with a magnetically controlled line which runs from Butler Gymnasium, the campus was soon regularly reminded of the time of day by the clock's chimes.  The original installation on campus included a pool of water at its base complete with goldfish.  Ironically, the new clock was struck by lightning in 1986 leaving two faces inoperable.  It was repaired and remodeled in 1989.

The clock sits on a pedestal with four Latin inscriptions around its base which were written by Father Thomas Plassmann himself, they read: Tempus Dei Gratia, "Time is Gods gift" on the east side; Tempus Sanat Vulnera, "Time heals all wounds" on the south side; Tempus Fundit Munera, "Time dispenses gifts" on the north side;  and Tempus Horret Otia, "Time hates laziness" on the west side. 

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Last updated: February 5, 2019