Seth Thomas #6 Tower Clock

My Tower Clock

Thanks for visiting my blog.

If you have a tower clock or parts available I would like to buy them. Please email me at stotlarj@gmail.com

In my quest to restore something awesome to put in my house, I stumbled upon tower clocks. These historical clocks were and are used to power the large clocks you see high in the clock towers of old buildings.

I purchased this tower clock on a whim from an online auction. I had done zero research on tower clocks and I really had no business bidding on this clock.

Once the deed was done I began to conduct my research. I reached out to a tower clock expert to see what I had purchased. He said it looked like a Seth Thomas #6, but it should not be red in color.

The pilot dial dial on the clock had the name FR. Philippe on the top and St. Louis on the bottom.

With this information, I was able to trace the provenance of this clock to St. Boniface church in St. Louis. The clock was installed in 1891.

Church documents state that a German Mechanic named Fred Philippe built the clock. This would explain the red color of the clock.

The stand came from The Johnson City Fire department. It is dated 1923. It is a stand for a seth Thomas #6 clock. No one knows what happened to the original clock. The stand was in the basement of the retired fire chief and when he passed away, it was sold at auction.

Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Finally moved clock into my house

I had a custom stand made for the clock and I am waiting for a custom weight to be made.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Almost Finished

Well, the clock is almost completed. I still have to string up the weights and build a stand for it, but essentially it is done. This has been a very fun project.

The New Gear Has been Made

Against the advice of everyone I spoke to, I borrowed a genuine Seth Thomas #6 Gear and had a blank cast from it. I then had the blank machined to original specs. Works great!!

Monday, December 30, 2013

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Time to take the clock apart

Another Part stamped FR. Phillipi St. Louis

Monday, November 19, 2012

Seth Thomas #6 Stand

Well, as hard as it might be to believe, I found an original Seth Thomas #6 stand for my clock.
This stand came from a fire Department in New York.

I have decided to put the red tower clock back to its original Seth Thomas green.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Documents Supporting Provenance of Clock

Saint Boniface Parish

Saint Boniface

Johnson City Fire Station

The Clock Has Arrived

The Tower Clock has arrived at my house. Smaller than I thought, but this was actually a nice surprise.
The dimensions of the movement are 18" wide X 15.5" deep X 20" tall.

Auction Photos of Tower Clock

These are the Tower Clock photos from the auction. I had no idea what I was buying