Humble Municipal Court Town Clock - Humble, TX - Town Clocks on Waymarking.com

As best described by a local newspaper article a few months after its dedication:

The new clock tower on Bender Avenue in downtown Humble keeps watch over the city's police department and City Hall, its electronic chimes ringing out each quarter hour. During the holidays, it can be programmed to play seasonal tunes.

The city dedicated the tower with these words: "Dedicated to the timeless preservation of the past by the present for the future."

The tower is the final result of years of planning, all started by former City Councilman David Pierce. Pierce, also a member of the Humble Preservation Committee, thought the town needed a symbol or landmark of sorts, said James Baker, Humble city manager.

"There was no true landmark in the city, short of the old artesian well," Baker said.

Pierce originally envisioned a plaza surrounding the clock tower, but that part of the project was abandoned when cost estimates ran too high. The clock tower's construction ended up costing roughly $75,000.

Pierce first posed the idea in 1999.

"It took this long period of time for this to come to pass," Baker said.

The tower was dedicated in April this year during the city's Good Oil Days festival. A time capsule was placed in its foundation, to be opened in 25 years.

"With the location being close to the center part of town, it makes a good focal point for the city for parades and events we have in town," Baker said. "This is close to all of those events. There is no other real location or structure that people could associate with the city."

The tower sits in the parking lot of the former Harris County Court annex. Baker said the property was deeded to the city, which now plans to use it as a municipal court.

The city hired the Cincinnati, Ohio,-based Verdin Co. to construct its timepiece. Baker said the company is one of the world's foremost clockmakers.

The company specializes in clocks and towers tailor-made to each city's unique history. Verdin is the same company that designed the baseball-themed clock at Minute Maid Park.

For Humble, the clock makers modeled a clock that would hearken back to the city's history as an oil town. The legs of the black steel structure are angled like an oil derrick and it sports a catwalk.

Not everyone agreed with the final design, Baker said, but most people have had good things to say about the tower.

"It's an attractive structure," Baker said. "Certainly, you get mixed comments. Some don't like it. Some do. We think it certainly serves its purpose."

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The clocks were meant to represent a style popular in the mid- to late 19th century: they have a flat white central face with stylized hour & minute black hands surrounded by black arabic numerals. The only "modern" addition are the minute markers at the edges of the face, which was not common in those days as yet.

Status: Working Display: Mounted Year built: 04/01/2002 Web link to additional info: Not listed

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