The original Allen-Bradley clock, completed in 1950, was merely the largest |
Twelve years later, the company enlarged its conception, converting the clock
tower to a temperature gauge that displays degrees in Fahrenheit to this day.
Meanwhile, the company built a second, much larger tower to house a new clock,
unveiled on Halloween in 1962. This was the largest four-sided clock in the
world, with faces just over 40 feet in diameter. The octagonal shape of
all eight clocks on both towers aped Allen-Bradley’s corporate trademark, which
was first registered in 1923.
Milwaukee historian John Gurda says company co-founder Harry Bradley hoped to
make a “village clock.” Architect Fitzhugh Scott Jr., who designed it, said,
“Harry wanted a clock that Allen-Bradley’s workers could read from their
houses.” Reflecting the heritage of the surrounding neighborhood at the time, it
was eventually dubbed the “Polish Moon.”
