Passing through Journal Square and seeing the hands missing from the silent clock is like time is standing still — sending out a message of neglect and inactivity at what may appear from the street an old abandoned movie palace. And as we all should know, the Loew’s Jersey is alive and as well as it can be working on limited resources.
The whole clock was restored by a professional clock restorer, but at some point the wooden hands had fallen off. A friend of mine in upstate, NY who belongs to a clock and watch association, introduced me to Chuck Roser of the Clock Tower Chapter of that organization. I contacted him for FOL and for $500 he created new aluminum power coated (an enamel like paint) hands from original drawings and specifications he had on file from the Seth Thomas Clock Company. New counterweights for the hands were also made that were painted white to blend in with the clock face.
The hands are now on display in a lobby showcase awaiting funds for their installation by an insured clock installer who, I’m told, costs $1,200 to install the hands and fix a small gear box and shaft directly behind the hands that link them to the massive clock works.
Donations provided the cost of the new hands and begun towards the $1,200 goal for their installation. I trust that the loyal base of donors and new donors will come forward to restore this crowning touch to the Loew’s facade.
Along with the newly restored Wonder Morton organ, a working clock tower with its bells and and animation of St. George slaying the dragon every 15 minutes will show the community that the Loew’s Jersey has pride in not only its historic past but its future.
I am not writing in any official capacity but rather as a interested individual looking to help the Loew’s return to its former glory.
Help bring time back to Journal Square
Passing through Journal Square and seeing the hands missing from the silent clock is like time is standing still — sending out a message of neglect and inactivity at what may appear from the street an old abandoned movie palace. And as we all should know, the Loew’s Jersey is alive and as well as it can be working on limited resources.
The whole clock was restored by a professional clock restorer, but at some point the wooden hands had fallen off. A friend of mine in upstate, NY who belongs to a clock and watch association, introduced me to Chuck Roser of the Clock Tower Chapter of that organization. I contacted him for FOL and for $500 he created new aluminum power coated (an enamel like paint) hands from original drawings and specifications he had on file from the Seth Thomas Clock Company. New counterweights for the hands were also made that were painted white to blend in with the clock face.
The hands are now on display in a lobby showcase awaiting funds for their installation by an insured clock installer who, I’m told, costs $1,200 to install the hands and fix a small gear box and shaft directly behind the hands that link them to the massive clock works.
Donations provided the cost of the new hands and begun towards the $1,200 goal for their installation. I trust that the loyal base of donors and new donors will come forward to restore this crowning touch to the Loew’s facade.
Along with the newly restored Wonder Morton organ, a working clock tower with its bells and and animation of St. George slaying the dragon every 15 minutes will show the community that the Loew’s Jersey has pride in not only its historic past but its future.
I am not writing in any official capacity but rather as a interested individual looking to help the Loew’s return to its former glory.