THE CLOCK HOUSE OF CLINTON HILL (1914)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. Do you know the history of YOUR house? ******************************************************************************************************************************** Nothing says “time’s a-wastin’” like the gift of a good clock. And that “tick-tick-tick” on the old mantel back in the day was a constant reminder that there were only a certain number of hours, minutes, and seconds within each day. And, more than anyone else, James Arthur knew it. A CLOCK, A CLOCK, MY KINGDOM FOR A CLOCK! James Arthur, a wealthy industrialist and owner of a machine works in Brooklyn, collected all manner of timepieces. He also fixed them, traded them, dreamt about them, and talked about them all day long – literally. He lectured on clocks, giving hundreds of speeches on timepieces in his lifetime. And as a rich Brooklynite he had a lot of that time on his hands. He traveled. He sought out clocks. He talked some more about clocks through interpreters in foreign lands. Then, at some point, he realized that he needed a home for all of those clocks. And with the number of clocks he owned, it would need to be a big one. No. 357 CLINTON AVENUE – THE CLOCK HOUSE In 1914, Arthur found that place. It wasn’t a new building, and it likely needed some work, but it was grand, had great presence, and – most importantly – it was […]
