Hamilton Watch Complex
Encyclopedia
The Hamilton Watch Complex is a former industrial complex in Lancaster
, Pennsylvania
. It was owned by the Hamilton Watch Company
and was used as their headquarters from the company's founding in 1892, until 1980. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982. The main building was converted into a luxury apartment
and condominium
complex.
(Columbia Avenue). Twin 90 feet (27.4 m) clock tower
s are the most dominant feature of the building. Each tower is topped with a mansard roof
trimmed with copper
and a clock with four faces
. The four-story complex was built out of brick and is shaped roughly like an 'E' with the main portion of building situated east–west, paralleling Columbia Avenue, and three wings extend north. An unconnected, four-story, Art Deco
office building stands south of the main building, located between the two clock towers. The westernmost wing of the complex was designed in a "restrained" International style
.
-architect Clarence Luther Stiles in the Second Empire style, was three stories high and consisted of only the eastern tower, flanked on either side with a wing. The company went bankrupt in 1876 and, after several years of attempts to organize a new company, the Keystone Standard Watch Company was started in 1886. Keystone Standard Watch went bankrupt, as well, in 1890 and its assets sold in 1892 in a public auction
to group of investors from Lancaster, who had also bought another bankrupt watch company in Aurora
, Illinois
. They founded the Hamilton Watch Company
on December 14, 1892.
In 1902, the western wing was extended and a fourth floor was added to entire building, as well as an extension of the clock tower and modification of its mansard roof, in 1905. The complex was repeatedly expanded in the early 1910s
, ending in 1916 with the construction of the second clock tower. An addition was constructed in 1923 on the eastern end of the building. An extension was built, extending north from the western clock tower, in 1925 to 1926 and another, extending west from the same tower, in 1929. Various landscaping
projects were also undertaken during the 1920s
. A new factory wing was constructed in 1936 situated behind the original 1874 clock tower. The four-story office building located between the two clock towers was built in 1941, along with another wing extending north from the end of the 1929 addition. The final addition of the complex was completed in 1963, with the construction of another wing adjacent to the 1941 wing.
to convert the complex into 202 apartments and 61 townhouse
s, but it fell through; its failure being blamed on "high interest rates and restrictive zoning
regulations". Another developer bought the site in 1983, however that project halted in 1984 by a "legal dispute
", leaving 78 units unfinished and dozens more only partially completed. A Montessori
school was opened in the 1941 office building in autumn of 1995. The complex was sold to a Baltimore
-based developer in 1998 with plans to convert the existing apartments into luxury apartment and condominium
s at a cost of $8 million. The final phase of the renovations of the main building was completed in July 2000; a total 135 condos were constructed in the building. The 1941 and 1963 wings were sold to the city in 1999; after a $4.5 renovation, the wings were leased to an insurance company in 2003. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on August 14, 1982 and was designated a contributing property
to the Lancaster City Historic District on September 7, 2001.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It was owned by the Hamilton Watch Company
Hamilton Watch Company
The Hamilton Watch Company was originally formed to produce high quality pocket watches and wristwatches mid-range and luxury. Hamilton would become a corporate conglomerate diversified in other operations...
and was used as their headquarters from the company's founding in 1892, until 1980. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982. The main building was converted into a luxury apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
and condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
complex.
Design
The complex is located on the western edge of the city of Lancaster on Pennsylvania Route 462Pennsylvania Route 462
Pennsylvania Route 462 is a long east–west running local route in central Pennsylvania. The western terminus is west of York. The eastern terminus is east of Lancaster. At both ends, PA 462 terminates at U.S. Route 30, and all of the route was signed as U.S. Route 30 before a freeway was...
(Columbia Avenue). Twin 90 feet (27.4 m) clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
s are the most dominant feature of the building. Each tower is topped with a mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
trimmed with copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and a clock with four faces
Clock face
A clock face is the part of an analog clock that displays the time through the use of a fixed numbered dial or dials and moving hands. In its most basic form, recognized universally throughout the world, the dial is numbered 1–12 indicating the hours in a 12-hour cycle, and a short hour hand...
. The four-story complex was built out of brick and is shaped roughly like an 'E' with the main portion of building situated east–west, paralleling Columbia Avenue, and three wings extend north. An unconnected, four-story, Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
office building stands south of the main building, located between the two clock towers. The westernmost wing of the complex was designed in a "restrained" International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
.
History
The Adams and Perry Watch Manufacturing Company was formed in September 1874 and started construction on the original building in the complex, which was completed in July 1875. The building, designed by ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-architect Clarence Luther Stiles in the Second Empire style, was three stories high and consisted of only the eastern tower, flanked on either side with a wing. The company went bankrupt in 1876 and, after several years of attempts to organize a new company, the Keystone Standard Watch Company was started in 1886. Keystone Standard Watch went bankrupt, as well, in 1890 and its assets sold in 1892 in a public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
to group of investors from Lancaster, who had also bought another bankrupt watch company in Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. They founded the Hamilton Watch Company
Hamilton Watch Company
The Hamilton Watch Company was originally formed to produce high quality pocket watches and wristwatches mid-range and luxury. Hamilton would become a corporate conglomerate diversified in other operations...
on December 14, 1892.
In 1902, the western wing was extended and a fourth floor was added to entire building, as well as an extension of the clock tower and modification of its mansard roof, in 1905. The complex was repeatedly expanded in the early 1910s
1910s
File:1910s montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Model T Ford is introduced and becomes widespread; The sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic causes the deaths of nearly 1,500 people and attracts global and historical attention; Title bar: All the events below are part of World War I ; French Army lookout...
, ending in 1916 with the construction of the second clock tower. An addition was constructed in 1923 on the eastern end of the building. An extension was built, extending north from the western clock tower, in 1925 to 1926 and another, extending west from the same tower, in 1929. Various landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
projects were also undertaken during the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
. A new factory wing was constructed in 1936 situated behind the original 1874 clock tower. The four-story office building located between the two clock towers was built in 1941, along with another wing extending north from the end of the 1929 addition. The final addition of the complex was completed in 1963, with the construction of another wing adjacent to the 1941 wing.
Renovation
In 1980, the Hamilton Watch Company was renamed Hamilton Technology and was moved out of the complex, into downtown Lancaster. A proposal was put forth in 1981 by a Philadelphia-based real estate developerReal estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
to convert the complex into 202 apartments and 61 townhouse
Townhouse
A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...
s, but it fell through; its failure being blamed on "high interest rates and restrictive zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
regulations". Another developer bought the site in 1983, however that project halted in 1984 by a "legal dispute
Legal case
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
", leaving 78 units unfinished and dozens more only partially completed. A Montessori
Montessori method
Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.-Overview:...
school was opened in the 1941 office building in autumn of 1995. The complex was sold to a Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-based developer in 1998 with plans to convert the existing apartments into luxury apartment and condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s at a cost of $8 million. The final phase of the renovations of the main building was completed in July 2000; a total 135 condos were constructed in the building. The 1941 and 1963 wings were sold to the city in 1999; after a $4.5 renovation, the wings were leased to an insurance company in 2003. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on August 14, 1982 and was designated a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Lancaster City Historic District on September 7, 2001.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaNational Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on National Register of Historic Places in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States...