This clock hung at the 1933-1934 Chicago "Century of Progress" World's Fair. Converting light from the star Arcturus into an electrical signal, the Elgin National Watch Company's observatory controlled the timing of this IBM clock via telephone lines. This clock then controlled all of the other official clocks in the exhibit pavilion and the turning on of all outdoor lighting each evening. Thank you to the Signal Hill Daughters of the American Revolution for making this conservation possible! |

Elgin may have been based in Illinois, but its story weaves into Florida history too. Jewelers like Greenleaf & Crosby brought Elgin watches south, opening boutiques at Flagler’s luxury hotels in St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Miami where winter visitors purchased them. In Jacksonville, the famous four dial street clock by Greenleaf & Crosby (later Jacobs Jewelers) often gets mistaken as an Elgin, but it was actually built in 1901 by the Seth Thomas Clock Company, moved to Laura and Adams in 192