Bisno Schall Clock Gallery - Santa Barbara, CA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 34° 25.450 W 119° 42.158
11S E 251631 N 3812501
Bisno Schall Clock Gallery is a museum of horology. It features the newly renovated clockworks of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.
Waymark Code: WMF02B
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/30/2012
Views: 3
Santa Barbara's newest museum opened April 27, 2012 after two years of work and planning.
The museum is located high in the Santa Barbara Courthouse Tower. It features a clock gallery, a mural about the history of time, and a look at the inner workings of the newly renovated mechanical clock.
From the Chicago Tribune:
(The Santa Barbara County Courthouse…)
…has many local boosters, including David Bisno, an amateur historian and founder of a national program for senior education. Two years ago, Bisno led his class on the history of timekeeping into the junk-filled storeroom that housed the Seth Thomas.
"My pupils dilated," said Bisno, a retired ophthalmologist. "I was blown away by ease with which I could teach everyone in the room how a clock works," he said. "It was big, it was impressive, and it was so obvious you were inside a clock."
Dick Schall, a philanthropist and clock collector who was one of Bisno's students, also was wowed. Together, they launched a grand plan: a full-scale renovation of Seth Thomas Tower Clock Model 18 No. 2744 and transformation of its dark nook into a mini-museum available for guided tours.
From a sign at the gallery:
The handsome mechanism in the center of the room below is the original tower clock that was built in 1929 by the Seth Thomas Clock Company in Connecticut for the then-new Santa Barbara Court Courthouse. The clock has been faithfully keeping time ever since, delighting generations of Santa Barbara residents. Until 2012, this treasure was hidden from view behind plywood walls and the space around it used for storage. With the creation of this unique gallery, Santa Barbara's fascinating timepiece can now be seen and appreciated by all.
The clock's falling weights, swinging pendulum and ingenious escapement device drive the hour and minute hands on the outside of the tower's four walls. Hammers strike bells to mark the quarter hours. The murals lining the gallery walls tell the story of timekeeping from ancient days up until 1929, when Santa Barbara's tower clock started ticking. It's about time!