The Rockwell Automation Headquarters is an office building located in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. The building is known for once having the largest four-faced clock in the world.
Clock Tower
History
The Allen-Bradley Clock Tower, owned by
Allen-Bradley, a product brand of
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation whose brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 ...
, has long been a landmark in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
. According to the Guinness Book of World Records: "The largest four-faced clock is that on the research and office addition of the Allen-Bradley Company. Each face has a diameter of 40 feet, 3-1/2 inches. Dedicated on October 31, 1962, it rises 280 feet from the streets of Milwaukee, and requires 34.6 kilowatts of electricity for lighting and power." It has since been surpassed by the 141 foot clock faces of the
Abraj Al Bait
The Clock Towers ( ar, أبراج الساعة, ʾAbrāǧ alsaa'a "Towers of the Clock") is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that ai ...
.
The original plan for the clock tower date as far back as 1959, when it appears on early drawings for the proposed addition. Created by architect Fitzhugh Scott, the plans included several towers in its design, only one of which would house a clock. This was scaled back, however a smaller tower on an existing building was kept and modified to display the outdoor temperature using a large digital display. The interest in creating the tower was Harry Bradley, younger of the firm's two founding brothers. An inventor, Bradley including in his tinkering several of the clocks which he owned.
The Clock Tower's lighted faces have been used as a navigation aid for
Lake Michigan mariners over the years, except during the
1973 oil crisis when the clock was unlit from November 1973 to June 1974.
Clock size
The current clock tower stands at . Because the octagonal faces are nearly twice the size of the faces of London's
Big Ben, chimes were never added in an attempt to allow Big Ben to remain the largest four-faced ''chiming'' clock in the world. In fact, that title has belonged to the
Minneapolis City Hall
Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse (also known as the Municipal Building), designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, as well as by Hennepin County, in the U.S. state of M ...
clock since 1909. Each hour hand of the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower is long and weighs 490 pounds (220 kg). Each minute hand is 20 feet (6.1 m) long and weighs 550 pounds (240 kg). The hour markings are high.
Appearance in popular culture
The tower made an appearance on the NASCAR Busch Series race car of
Mike Bliss
Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A journeyman NASCAR competitor and the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series.
Racing career
Bliss began ...
in 2004. To celebrate Rockwell Automation and Allen-Bradley's 100-year association, the #20 Rockwell Automation car was painted black with gold accents, along with the Rockwell/Allen-Bradley 100 Years symbol on the hood and quarter panels. The Clock Tower was depicted on the car in front of the wheel well. In Season 1, Episode 3 of Apple TV series
Ted Lasso
''Ted Lasso'' is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NB ...
, the title character references spending three hours and 42 minutes alone at the Clock Tower.
See also
*
Abraj Al Bait
The Clock Towers ( ar, أبراج الساعة, ʾAbrāǧ alsaa'a "Towers of the Clock") is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that ai ...
*
Big Ben
*
List of tallest buildings in Milwaukee
The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is home to 119 high-rise buildings or skyscrapers, 55 of which stand at or taller. The majority of the city's tallest buildings are located north of the Interstate 794, south of Juneau Avenue, east of Interstate ...
References
External links
NGS Survey of the Tower
{{Rockwell International
Skyscraper office buildings in Milwaukee
Landmarks in Wisconsin
Clock towers in Wisconsin
Headquarters in the United States
South Side, Milwaukee