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The Louisville Clock, also called the Derby Clock, is a 40-ft-high mechanized ornamental clock that replicates a horse race, with famous characters and the Belle of Louisville in competition. Photo by Michael Baker, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Folk-art Louisville Clock nearly restored

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
The Louisville Clock, also called the Derby Clock, is a 40-ft-high mechanized ornamental clock that replicates a horse race, with famous characters and the Belle of Louisville in competition. Photo by Michael Baker, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
The Louisville Clock, also called the Derby Clock, is a 40-ft-high mechanized ornamental clock that replicates a horse race, with famous characters and the Belle of Louisville in competition. Photo by Michael Baker, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A folk-art clock in Louisville that features five historical figures racing around the timepiece’s tilted oval is keeping time, but needs a little more work before it is officially dedicated.

Businessman Adam Burckle took on the project nearly a decade ago. He told The Courier-Journal that the city-owned clock keeps perfect time, but it needs another $20,000 worth of work to stabilize the figurines, enclose its control panel and make other minor tweaks.

Commissioned in 1970, the Louisville Clock — or Derby Clock, as it is also known — features figures that represent Daniel Boone, Thomas Jefferson, King Louis XVI, George Rogers Clark and the Belle of Louisville.

Restoration began in 2004 after the clock spent more than a decade in storage. The clock returned to Fourth Street in April, but Burckle says it won’t be dedicated until the remaining work is done.

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Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The Louisville Clock, also called the Derby Clock, is a 40-ft-high mechanized ornamental clock that replicates a horse race, with famous characters and the Belle of Louisville in competition. Photo by Michael Baker, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
The Louisville Clock, also called the Derby Clock, is a 40-ft-high mechanized ornamental clock that replicates a horse race, with famous characters and the Belle of Louisville in competition. Photo by Michael Baker, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.