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Famous Clock Towers
By Charles Wilkinson

Clock towers were originally designed to allow the public to have access to the exact local time. They were much more useful years ago when not everyone owned a watch. Today, clock towers are more of a status symbol for towns and institutions, admired for their historic and artistic merits rather than for their practical usage.

Palace of Westminster

Popularly known as Big Ben, the clock tower of Westminster is a 200 foot turret clock located at the north-eastern end of the Houses of Parliament. It is one of the most famous landmarks in London, England. The clock tower is one of the biggest in the world and is accurate to within one second. Its hour hand is nine feet long and its minute hand is 14 feet long. The clock first became operational on September 7 1859. It has an estimated weight of 9,553 tons

Rajabai Tower

Located in South Mumbai, India on the campus of the University of Mumbai, the 280 foot clock tower was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, an English architect, who modeled it after the clock tower of Westminster, London, England. Its construction was completed in 1878. It was named after Rajabai Roychand, the mother of the wealthy man who founded the Bombay Stock Exchange and paid for most of the construction costs. The clock tower is known for its sixteen chimes that play every 15 minutes throughout the day.

The Spasskaya Clock Tower

Overlooking the Red Square in Moscow, The Spasskaya Tower was built in 1491 by an Italian architect named Pietro Antonio Solari. Initially, it was named the Frolovskaya Tower after the Church of Frol and Lavr; however, the modern name comes from the religious Russian icon, Spas Nerukotvorny, which was placed above the gates in 1658, but is not longer on display. The clock tower is approximately 71 meters tall and is usually referred to as the Kremlin clock. It is one of many famous towers in the Moscow Kremlin.

Sung Su's Water Clock
One of the most famous ancient clock, this clock tower was built in China around 1090 and was also known as the Cosmic Engine. The legend goes that a boy emperor wanted to build a clock that would surpass all other that had ever existed. Su Sung was the chief architect and designer of the clock. It was driven by a large water wheel with hinged scoops on the end that filled with water and powered the clock. The clock tower was approximately 30 feet high. It contained a number of automated components that would move and ring bells on the hour.

Author Details:
Charles Wilkinson, copywriter for various web sites about clocks & watches including The A to Z of and information junkies.

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