Filed Under Businesses

Ginsburg Clock

From Virginia Street to Park Lane Mall and back again, a Reno landmark since 1935

The Ginsburg clock, also known as the Park Lane clock, or Mall clock, was first installed in front of the Ginsburg Jewelry Co., 133 North Virginia Street, in 1935. It remained there for decades before it was moved to the Park Lane Mall in 1967 and to its current location in front of Reno City Hall in 2012.

The clock was purchased from Joseph Mayer, a Seattle clockmaker, and reportedly also has parts made by the E. Howard Company, another prominent clockmaker from Boston. The E. Howard Company produced about 108,000 various designs of watch movements in the latter half of the 19th century. Production continued with existing parts into the 1920s.

Businesses, especially jewelers, were known to place these types of clocks outside their stores, supposedly so patrons could set their watches as they exited. There was at least one other street clock downtown in the 1940s, located in front of L.C. Griffin, Inc. Jewelers, just across Virginia Street from Ginsburg's. However, as the only street clock remaining in the area, the Ginsburg clock is the last surviving local resource of its kind.

In addition to being a unique resource that is significant for its design and craftsmanship, the Ginsburg clock is also significant for its association with a storied local business and well-known businessman who helped to shape the commercial landscape of downtown Reno in the early- to mid-20th century. Harry Ginsburg, the clock’s namesake, was a prominent businessman in Reno. Born in Dobrovus, Russia in 1882, he immigrated to the United States with his wife, Anna Epp, in 1906. The couple spent two years in Denver before relocating to San Rafael, where Harry opened his first jewelry store. The Ginsburgs moved to Reno in 1914, purchasing the Golden Jewelry Store at Second and Virginia streets. They moved the store to its longtime location on 133 N. Virginia St. by 1921, where it became known as “one of the largest and best-known jewelry firms in this part of the country,” according to Ginsburg’s obituary published on June 8, 1954 in the Reno Evening Gazette.

The paper described Ginsburg as a “prominent business man in Reno for 40 years.” He was described as taking a “quiet active interest in civic affairs” and “one of the organizers and for years one of the strongest supporters of Temple Emmanu-El and of the Bnai Brith organization.” The family lived at 543 Ridge Street in Reno (see separate entry for the Ginsburg House), where Anna regularly hosted meetings of Reno’s Hadassah chapter, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. The Ginsburg Jewelry Co. operated under continuous family management until 1971.

In 1935, Ginsburg installed the 5,180-pound clock in front of his jewelry store. For decades, the clock remained a recognizable and celebrated landmark in downtown Reno before it was moved to the Park Lane Mall. The clock was described as a centerpiece of the mall. On March 6, 1967, the Reno Evening Gazette reported: “Kathy Blaikie, Miss Nevada of 1966, will ‘christen’ the clock with a bottle of champagne for the official opening” of the mall.

After the Park Lane Mall closed, Reno mayor Bob Cashell led an effort in 2007 to save the clock and, according to the Reno Gazette Journal, talked the M&H Realty Partners of San Francisco into donating it to the city. It was packed into seven boxes and kept in storage until a plan could be formulated to reinstall it somewhere.

In 2012, Bill Thornton, co-owner of the Club Cal-Neva, and Tim Healion, local restaurant owner of Laughing Planet, worked to have the clock restored by Electric Time Co. in Massachusetts. The restoration was part of a gift to the city for Club Cal Neva’s 50th anniversary. The Ginsburg Clock was added to the City of Reno's Register of Historic Places in 2019.

Images

The Ginsburg Clock around 1960
The Ginsburg Clock around 1960 A photograph taken around 1960 shows the Ginsburg Clock at its original location on North Virginia Street, between the Wonder Millinery & Dress Shop (on the right) and Lester Hilp's Drug Store. Source: Phillip Sublett Date: ca. 1960
Ginsburg Clock arrival in 1935
Ginsburg Clock arrival in 1935 An article in the November 19, 1935 edition of the Nevada State Journal announced the installation of the Ginsburg Company's 18-foot clock outside of the Ginsburg Jewelry store at 133 N. Virginia Street. The clock was said to weigh 5180 pounds. Source: Nevada State Journal Date: November 19, 1935
Virginia Street, 1940s
Virginia Street, 1940s A photograph looking north on Virginia Street in the 1940s shows the Ginsburg clock on the west (left) side of the street, directly opposite the street clock installed on the east side of the street, in front of L.C. Griffin, Inc. Jewelers. Creator: Nevada Department of Transportation Date: 1940s
Parklane Mall, 1999
Parklane Mall, 1999 For many years, the Ginsburg Clock was located at Park Lane Mall. When the mall closed in 2007, the clock was saved from demolition, thanks largely to the efforts of Reno Mayor Bob Cashell and the new owners of the mall property, M&H Realty Partners, who donated it to the City of Reno. Source: Reno Gazette-Journal Creator: Richard Stokes Date: 1999
Rededication, 2013
Rededication, 2013 The Ginsburg Clock was rededicated on September 18, 2013 with Mayor Bob Cashell, Bill Thornton, and many members of the Ginsburg family in attendance to celebrate the clock's return to downtown Reno. Source: Tim Healion Date: 2013
Installation on Reno City Plaza, 2019
Installation on Reno City Plaza, 2019 A photo documents the careful installation of the Ginsburg Clock on Reno City Plaza on January 17, 2019, after the completion of the new Virginia Street Bridge. Creator: Tim Healion Date: 2019
Ginsburg Clock descriptive plaque
Ginsburg Clock descriptive plaque A plaque installed at the base of the Ginsburg Clock in its new location on Reno's City Plaza provides information about the clock's history and its donation to the City of Reno by M&H Realty Partners in 2007. Creator: Tim Healion

Location

Reno City Plaza, Reno, Nevada

Metadata

Emerson Marcus, “Ginsburg Clock,” Reno Historical, accessed December 8, 2024, https://renohistorical.org/items/show/244.