Welcome to the Louisville Clock Restoration Project.

The Adam Matthews Foundation started work on restoring this great and historic Louisville landmark in March of 2004. With the help of many generous donors, volunteers and supporters the progress has moved forward and the results have been very good! Feel free to look around and come by and see the progress. The clock, while under construction, is located at Bowman Field next to the Drivers License Bureau on Dutchman's Lane. A site will not be chosen for the clock until the project is completed and it is fully determined the clock can run without any further work or repairs.

If you wish to donate to the clock, please email or call us (502) 499-2253.

HISTORY: Designed by famous Louisville native artist Barney Bright. The clock featured 10 historic figures with a connection to Louisville and the famous Belle who was a fictitious, voluptuous figure from Barney.

Historic Figures - Track: Daniel Boone • King Louis (Louisville's Name Sake) • George Rogers Clark (Founder of Louisville) • Thomas Jefferson (The County is named after Thomas Jefferson) • Belle of Louisville

Historic Figures - Bandstand: Mary Anderson - World Famous Voluptuous Actress • Henry Watterson - Newspaper Editor • Zachary Taylor - General and U.S President • D.W. Griffith - Hollywood Director • Oliver Cooke - Trumpeter
Clock Runs for 1st Time in 21 years

Major Milestone! For the first time in 21 years the clock ran a successful run around the track on 8/9/07. Click here for more info and to see details on seeing the first run of a clock figure around the track.

Video requires Apple Quicktime to view. For a Free download for Windows Click Here, for Mac Click here
Limited Edition Lapel Pins: Help support the Louisville Clock Restoration Project with a purchase of one of these numbered limited edition (2,500) pins. The cost is $6.00 each with $2.50 shipping and handling.

To order one call (502) 499-2253

To purchase pins, please visit the following location:

  • Adam Matthews, Inc.
    2104 Plantside Drive
    Louisville, KY 40299
    (502)499-2253

The Louisville Clock • List of Volunteers and Contributors ...
Major Contributors: ($50,000 and above)
  • Adam Matthews Foundation

Contributors: ($25,000 and above)
Corporate Contributors-Current:
Rebuild Phases / Timeline: Click on the photo above to see the Phases of the Rebuild
Wanting to volunteer or donate to the clock restoration? Call us at (502) 499-2253 or email us by clicking here.
Project Timeline:

Fall 2003: Restoration planning started.

March 12, 2004: Clock moved to Bowman Field to start renovation.

Summer of 2004: It was determined there was no master documentation, schematics drawings etc. detailing the clock. So the first step we took was to lay out the clock in sections to evaluate the condition of each piece and to document what all was there. We had to dismantle pieces, mark them and try to put them into a configuration to determine if it was intact.

November 2004: The detail work of reconstruction began with the start of the sandblasting. The clock has been broken down into five sections: Clock Tower, Band Stand, Track, Frame and Figures. The first item to be reconstructed in full will be the Clock Tower.

December 2004: We are into the phase of rebuilding the clock tower structure which has proven to be far worse than expected. We are moving forward though our pace has slowed due to the demands of this tedious work. We are in need of volunteers for many tasks (many require no skills just your generous help), if you can help PLEASE contact us at (502) 499-2253 or email us at Save the Clock

2005: See the sections, pictures and links down this page.

2006: See the sections, pictures and links down this page.

  • 2,624 man hours as of August 29, 2006

MEDIA ARTICLES:
Moving Day March 12, 2004: Thanks to the people at Integral Structures for donating a crew of up 4 workers all day to move the clock to one central location at Bowman where everyone can see it's progress.

Click on the picture to the left (or here) to see more pictures and details.
November 19, 2004 (Left): The detail work is now taking place with the stripping of all of the old paint. What we are finding are numerous stress cracks and decay in numerous areas of the aluminum due to the casting. This is the first time since the clock was made that anyone has been able to see the true condition of the clock.

Click on the picture to the left (or here) to see more.
November 23, 2004 (Left): Sandblasting of the clock tower as it nears an end. Work will now begin on welding structural cracks and then prep for painting. The Stainglass is now finished undergoing it's restoration. The clock works are underway with their repairs.
November 29, 2004 (Left): Sandblasting of both the clock tower and D.W. Griffith are 100% complete. Work is now starting on the welding of all structural cracks. Some complications have set in with the welding as the metal is thin and very cold. Louisville Welding Supply has stepped up to offer their expert advice and high quality equipment!
December 17, 2004 (Left): Phase 1 nears completion!!! We worked very hard and overcame the welding and structural problems. The quality of the aluminum casting was very poor and has many impurities. We had been struggling with this losing ground on our timeline. GOOD NEWS! We overcame the issues and Phase 1 will be finished ahead of schedule. We will announce this to the community before December 31, maybe even by Christmas! What a great gift to the community during the Holidays.
Click on any of the pictures above for more information on Phase 1.
February 15, 2005 (Left): The clock reached another milestone today as it was mounted on the bandstand. The clock was set on top by Kevin Kneir, Kenny Machtloff, Lou Singhiser and Earl Kraus. The clock is now keeping very accurate time and is lit up with temporary lighting until we obtain a more permanent lighting system. Work is now starting on the mechanics of the figures and the columns that supported the bandstand.

Click on the picture to the left (or here) to see more about Phase 2.
May 11, 2005: The figures for the Bandstand are nearing completion of their all new mechanicals. Work has started on the frame and the track. At this point we are about 3 months ahead of schedule. Earl Kraus and Lou Singhiser have been working very hard to complete the sandblasting. Kevin Kneir has 4 of the 5 bandstand figures up and running.

Movie of the track being disassembled. (1.5mb file requires Quicktime for viewing)

New movie of Figures in action (Large 22mb file (1 minute for high speed) requires Quicktime for viewing)

Click here for more pictures of our progress
June 18, 2005: Paint Party: Arranged by Steve Wiser, over 15 people showed up for the morning to help us paint the columns, trim and more. After months of sand blasting, thanks to the generous use of an air system from Sunbelt Rental, painting started on que. Click on the picture or here to see more.
August 5, 2005: Track Set Up Day: With the help of Integral Structures, RSC, Sunbelt Rental and many volunteers for the first time in 16 years since it's dismantling the clock track was straightened out, put back as one whole from the two halves it was cut into and it was erected!. Thanks to the precise skills of Integral Structures and their crew the day was a huge success!

This page has LOTS of pictures well worth seeing! Click on the picture or here to see more.
The bandstand made it's debut at the 2005 Adam Matthews Balloon Festival. Click here for Picture 1 and for Picture 2
August 2005 - August 2006: Work Work Work We set up the track in August 2005 and spent a few months aligning, making adjustments, fixing welds, replacing aluminum. evaluating the decorative skirting, determining the rebiuild of the exterior skirting and running through the mechanicals. We took off 3 months in the summer heat and 2 months in the winter due to the winter chill. August 2006, work is now taking place on the exterior skirting stop by anytime to see the progress.
September 2006 - January 2007: And still more work. The clock was displayed at the 2006 Adam Matthews Festival. A picture to the left shows it in all it's majesty. Click on it or the two below for larger images. Work is now in the final stages on the track and 5 track figure mechanics, drive system and computer to run the clock. This is by far the most detailed stage.
February 2007 - July 2007: Final Stages All five of the bandstand figures and all five of the track figures are fully restored and functioning. Final work on the actual race track mechanics for each of the five track figures is in the works.

Special thanks to F. N. Sheppard for donating the belts, W.R Martin for the gears, Kaman for the motors and gear boxes, Fred Gatterdam for advice and General Welding for steel, aluminum and the labor to transform them.
Sneak Peek!

We are very excited that we have conquered the 30 year old problem of mechanically running the track figures! We have successfully re-engineered and re-designed a dependable maintenance free drive system running the track figures, without affecting any of the artistic integrity. Click on the Thomas Jefferson Rides picture for a video sneak peek!

Video requires Apple Quicktime to view. For a Free download for Windows Click Here, for Mac Click here