Wheeler Town Clock - Manitou Springs, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 38° 51.467 W 104° 54.982
13S E 507256 N 4300998
Wheeler Town Clock was donated in 1891 by financier Jerome B. Wheeler was restored in 1991.
Waymark Code: WMCP37
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 09/27/2011
Views: 14
Jerome B. Wheeler donated this clock in 1889 for the opening of the Manitou Water Bottling Company. The clock, cast in Italy, was also a fountain. Water flowed from stylized dolphin heads into bowls; the lower bowls allowed "man's best friend" a drink. The statue on top is of the goddess Hebe. "Hebe is the goddess of eternal youth, the daughter of Zeus." She was formerly known as Hygeia, after being misidentified for almost 120 years. It was an honest mistake to dub her Hygeia, goddess of health and daughter of healing god Asclepius, when mineral water bottling magnate Jerome Wheeler gave the statue to the town in 1890.
"Throughout the American West, every mining community has one or two individuals who become highly successful. One of Aspen's most notable entrepreneurs was Jerome B. Wheeler.
Mr. Wheeler, unlike others seeking to make their fortune in Aspen, would merely add to his own.
As half owner of New York City's Macy's Department Store, he moved to Manitou Springs, CO for his wife's health. At the time, Manitou Springs was known as "The Newport of the Rockies."
Not content with resort lifestyles, Jerome began investing in businesses and mining properties, including some in Aspen. It is estimated that he invested $500,000 in mining properties, buildings and most important, the completion of a critically needed smelter in Aspen.
Today, Wheeler remains an Aspen icon, not so much for his mining activities, but rather for the three buildings [in Aspen, Colorado], still standing, which bear his name—the Wheeler Opera House, The Jerome Hotel and the Wheeler/Stallard Museum, the later of which is now the headquarters of the Aspen Historical Society." (from (
visit link) and historic plaque)