ALAMOSA — The Velhagen clock has been restored to its original glory and is ready to be installed on Sept. 25 and 26 in downtown Alamosa. Such a simple sentence falls far short of capturing the devotion and determination it took to get the clock restored, starting with the efforts of John Davis who, years ago, saved the clock from being hauled away to the dump.
Davis, a master machinist, worked on the clock for years. When his health failed, he was joined by his good friend, J.R. Olson. When Davis died, a community effort was born with hundreds of hours logged by J.R. and other volunteers plus significant donations from individuals and businesses, all done in homage to Davis as much as commitment to the clock.
Although many said it couldn’t be done, once assembled this extraordinary piece of Alamosa history was keeping perfect time with precise automation that removes the need for it to be wound by hand.
It has since been disassembled and readied for transport to downtown, which is no easy feat. The clock is not just a stunning piece of precision clockworks and graceful metal adornment, it’s also massive. The installation will require a crew of six men working for two days as the clock stands more than 16 feet tall and weighs more than two and a half tons.
And…following much emotion filled discussion and negotiations, the clock will not stand in its former site – directly in front of what is now the Lucky Bamboo – but in a spot where it will be seen by all coming into Alamosa, a place where many felt it should have stood all along – in front of KavLy’s on Main Street, just west of State Avenue.
The clock was originally installed on March 6,1912, when that day’s edition of the Valley Courier read, “Velhagen Bros., the enterprising jewelers, are installing the fine new electric street clock that was ordered from the East some months ago. It will be quite a novelty for Alamosa and an adornment for State Street.”
And so it was.
For more than half a century, the street clock would do its duty from where it stood in front of Velhagen Bros. Jewelry at 505 State Avenue. Provided it was wound every eight days, it kept precise time visible both day and night while advertising VELHAGEN BROS. JEWELRY on its hood. Although it could be counted on to show the precise time to every kid on his way to school or man and woman on their way to work, its image was captured only by chance in photographs. And even then, the image was blurred as the clock was never the subject of the photo.
That was especially surprising as the Velhagen clock was one of only 212 made in the world by the Seth Thomas Clock Company, considered to be the “Tiffany” of all clockmakers. Today, it’s suspected to be one of only nine of its kind still in existence.
More than 110 years have passed since that first day it kept time for the people of Alamosa and an undetermined amount of time since it graced the city streets in town. But thanks to the unimaginable commitment shown by a group of people who toiled in honor and respect for John Davis as much as they did to see the clock restored, this “functional piece of art”, as described by Richard Luckemeier, can be appreciated by all who take a moment to stop and listen to its steady “tick tock” and gaze at the two faces on either side that will be illuminated at night.
A formal ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at some point in the near future.
