The Holland Tower and Clock
In 1892, construction began on the landmark Tower Clock building. That building, along with Graves Hall and Winants Chapel at Hope College, were built of Waverly stone mined from the Waverly Stone quarry just east of Holland, along the Black River.
The Tower Clock Building was built on the lot containing the burned down remains of Manly D. Howard’s landmark home. He and he family would never rebuild on that location, instead moving across the Black River. Howard Avenue is named after him.
The clock in the Tower Clock Building was built by John Raven, a 26-year-old jeweler from Hartford, Mich, so “men wouldn’t be late for work.” Apparently he wasn't kidding about the reason for the clock: he sought donations from surrounding merchants and factories, including the Cappon-Bertsch Leather Co., located down the hill where the Civic Center stands today.
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The clock is a "Century" Town Clock designed and manufactured by Nels Johnson of Manistee, Michigan. They were built to last a century. It has a white face, black numerals, black hour and minute hands, and a white neon light encircling the face.
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