The Clock Tower in
Rome, Georgia is one of the oldest landmarks in the city. The Clock Tower is located at the summit of Clock Tower Hill (also known as Neely Hill)
[Clock Tower Rome, Georgia]
aboutnorthgeorgia.com one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
[Wilson, CC]
RomeGeorgia.com. 23 February 2002. Retrieved 17 March 2018.[Denmon, Shirley. ''The Enchanted Land Eighth Hill.'' (2012). pp. 5. ]
History
The clock tower was built in 1871 under the direction of James Noble, Jr. and his family. It was originally built to hold the 250,000
gallons
The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use:
*the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austral ...
of water that would serve the city. Sheets of iron 10 feet long were used to build the frame of the tank, and red bricks surround it. The tank itself stood 63 feet tall and 26 feet wide. Atop the water tank, there is a bell and four clock faces located within a structure that stands 41 feet tall. Both the clock and bell were added in 1872, just one year after the original tower was built. The clocks were made by
E. Howard Clock Company. Each face is nine feet in diameter, the hour hand is three feet, six inches long, and the minute hand is four feet, three inches long. The bell within the
clock tower is made of genuine
bronze and measures 40 inches wide. Engraved on the rim is the date 1872. With the addition of the clocks and bell the clock tower now stands 104 feet tall and can be seen from almost any part of downtown Rome. By the 1890s the tower could no longer support the city's water needs, and ceased to operate as a water tower. After the closing of the tower, it began to fall into a state of mild disrepair. It stayed in that state throughout the 20th Century.
Recently
The Rome
Jaycees raised over $80,000 in 1986 in order to provide
landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following:
# Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...
on top of Neely Hill around the clock tower. The historical clock tower is now a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
, which opened in 1995, once again with the help of the Rome Jaycees. The inside of the water tank now displays works of art by local artist
Chuck Smultz
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
. Also inside are the 107 steps
spiraling around the tower to the top.
References
External links
*
Clock Tower, Rome, Georgia
Buildings and structures in Rome, Georgia
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
Towers completed in 1871
Clock towers in Georgia (U.S. state)
Tourist attractions in Floyd County, Georgia
National Register of Historic Places in Floyd County, Georgia
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