Old City Hall Clock and Bell Tower -- Wichita KS
N 37° 41.082 W 097° 20.282
14S E 646544 N 4172132
A 1000-pound bell was installed in the old Wichita Cty hall clock tower when the tower was finally finished out with a clock and bell in 1917.
Waymark Code: WMH171
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/05/2013
Views: 5
The clock and bell tower was part of the original 1892 design of the Romanesque Wichita City hall and municipal courthouse, but economic conditions prevented the finish-out of the clock and bell tower until 1917.
From the Wichita-Sedgewick County Historical Museum website, some history about the clock tower and the bells within: (
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". . . The “Palace of the Plains,” a striking example of the work of architects Willis Proudfoot and George Bird, was Wichita’s pride and joy when completed in 1892. After years of renting space for city offices and following a controversy surrounding the choice of a site, Wichita’s new City Building was meant to be a symbol of the prosperity of the 1880s. However, it was constructed during a recession that left the clock tower vacant for years. . . . The tower clock was added in 1917 along with the 1,000-pound bell, and in the 1950s the carillon was installed." [end]