NEWS

Meet under the Ayres Clock on November 20

With the help of contributors from around the state and beyond, we reached our fundraising goal to restore the 1936 bronze Ayres Clock, a beloved Indianapolis downtown landmark. Join us on November 20 as we unveil the restored clock.

Ayres Clock, Indianapolis
Ayres Clock, Indianapolis. (Photo: Judy Borron via Flickr)

Time to Celebrate

We invite the public to join Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett for the ceremonial start of the repaired Ayres Clock on Sunday, November 20 at noon. You’ll get a commemorative postcard, and we hope you’ll stay to be in the community photo we’ll shoot under the clock for the National Trust’s THIS PLACE MATTERS campaign.

You can also stroll a few paces down Washington Street to see the names of the 348 donors who contributed to the campaign as of October 26, 2016 displayed in a Carson’s window. After the THIS PLACE MATTERS photo shoot, Carson’s invites “clock people” to enjoy hot chocolate in the store.

Indiana Landmarks hoped to raise $20,000 by November 7 to restore the 10,000-pound Ayres Clock at the southwest corner of Washington and Meridian streets in Indianapolis. Then we discovered that the clock was originally lit from within, and that the bronze case needs repair and cleaning, so we increased our goal to $60,000 for restoration and to create a maintenance fund, which we reached on October 26!

While the clock will run properly beginning November 20, repair and cleaning of the bronze case will have to wait until spring. We’ll let you know when that project is underway.

No one quite remembers how long the clock has been completely out of order, but for a while now it’s been right eight times a day, since it has four faces and none displays the correct time!

Two Indiana Landmarks members—Mary Kummings and Paul Smith—asked us if we could get the beloved clock working again. We shared their enthusiasm to restore a civic landmark that was so important in lives of people in the city for decades. For generations, people met under the Ayres clock to go shopping, or to lunch or dinner.

Vonnegut and Bohn designed the 1905 Ayres department store, and in 1936 Arthur Bohn designed the bronze clock. Positioned nearly 29 feet above the sidewalk, the eight-foot tall clock gave passersby the time from all four directions — when it worked.

Our goal was to repair the clock before the bronze cherub comes to perch on the clock on Thanksgiving eve — an annual holiday tradition since 1947 — so we didn’t have much time. We launched the campaign on October 5 and reached our expanded goal of $60,000 on October 26.

The clock repair by Smith’s Bell and Clock Company will cost around $14,000, including four new faces that replicate the 1936 originals, and repair of the electrical system that lights the faces from within.

A worker in a lift inspecting the clock found an unsecured nine-inch bronze detail that could have fallen on a pedestrian’s head, so we’ll also spend around $20,000 clean and repair the bronze case, and enlarge the maintenance fund to ensure both annual clock cleaning and repair and periodic cleaning and conservation of the bronze case and cherub.

Many still call it the Ayres clock, even though the department store has been gone since 1992. The city owns the building, which is incorporated in Circle Centre mall. Carson’s occupies a portion of the old Ayres building.

Jeff Bennett, Indianapolis Deputy Mayor of Community Development, applauds the citizen campaign to repair the landmark clock, promising that the city will expedite the permits we’ll need in order to get repair work done in time for the cherub’s arrival.

LS Ayres Cherub by Lee Mandrell

The bronze cherub appears on the Ayres clock each Thanksgiving eve, to keep an eye on shoppers during the holiday season. (Photo: Lee Mandrell)

Thanks! to Mary Kummings and Paul Smith who took the initiative to ask Indiana Landmarks for help to fix the Ayres clock, and to all who contributed to the grass-roots civic campaign. 

Mr. and Mrs. David S. Allen
Linda J. Allen and Douglas J. Allen
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Alley
Mrs. Rhea Apple
Ms. Constance L. Applegate
Mr. Jonathan M. Atkins
Ms.Glenda Austin
Ms. Polly Baker
Ms. Martha Baker
Margaret and Don Banning
Mr. and Mrs. John Bartley
Mr. Thomas Barton
Ms. Laura Baugh
Mr. Gary L. Baxter
Richard A. Becker
Ms. Lynette Beckham
Mrs. Lucinda L. Beeler
Dr. and Mrs. Cyrus S. Behroozi
Shawn Y. Beltz and David A. Beltz, Sr.
Mrs. Theresa Berghoff
Mrs. Kathy Bewley
Drs. Peter and Carol Bick
Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Blome
Ms. Jeanne Marion Bowers
Bill and Nancy Brandenburg
Lt. Col. Walter Brant
Ms. Lydia Brasher
Mr. Donald W. Brice
Mr. Sam Bridegroom
Mr. Brent D. Brinkley
Mr. Christopher Brown
Dr. and Mrs. Frederick Burgomaster
Ms. Gwendolyn Burns
Ms. Rhea Cain
Janice and Richard Caloia
Ms. Katharine Carr
Carson’s
Mr. Eric Cavanaugh
Brian and Michele Chase
Ms. Glenda J. Chelf and Ms. Janet Duncan
Mr. John R. Chenault
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Clark
Mr. Ryne Click
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Clinton
Mr. and Mrs. Joe S. Columbe
Mrs. Norma Commorato
Ms. Sara Compton
Mr. and Mrs. Dexter Cooley
Ms. Kathy Cooper
Mr. and Mrs. David L. Copenhaver
Mr. and Mrs. Albert T. Cotton
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Cummings
Mrs. Carolyn Curry
Mrs. Shirley Daley
Ms. Mary Daly
Ms. Deborah Daniels
Ms. Juanita J. Daniels
Mark Darrall, AIA
Mrs. Jodie Daugherty
Mr. David Daum
Mr. and Mrs. James Delaney
Ms. Barbara J. Dennis
Mr. Timothy Dennison
Ms. Ann S. Dettwiler
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen E. DeVoe
Mr. Edward F. Dhondt
Mrs. Mary Dilthey-Griggs
Mr. Douglas Donahue
Ms. Clarita Donaldson
Dorsey Foundation, Inc.
Mrs. Candace L. Dorsten
Mr. Jon Dougherty
Ms. Jill Downs
Mrs. Cheryl Dunchak
Ms. Valerie Elliott and Mr. James E. Strange
Emmis Communications
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Endsley
Ms. Julie A. Ertl
Mr. Dan Evans
Mr. David Evans
Ms. April Farmer
Ms. Penelope S. Farthing
Mr. Edward Feigenbaum
Marguerite A. Ferguson and Charles A. Ferguson
Ms. Grace Blanchard and Mr. Evan Finch
Maribeth Zay Fischer
Ms. Mary Kay Fogarty
Mr. Michael Forsee
Mr. Kevin Frankland
Henry and Mary Frommeyer
Mrs. Kristen Gallup
Ms. Maxine Gambrel
Ms. Barbara E. Garing
Mr. Robert Gibbons
Tracy and Shelly Gilliland
Joy Godbey
Mr. Kirk Grable
Mrs. Karen Grant
Ms. Ann Grayson
Ms. Sheila Greenwald
Mrs. Linda Griffith
Mr. Sean Griggs
Mr. Dan W. Guio
Mr. Jordin Hajek
Ms. Linda L. Hall
Ms. Rosalie Hancock
Ms. Barbara Hanks
Elise A. Hanley
William A. Hanley
Mr. George R. Hanlin
Mr. Arthur Hanna
Ms. Eleonore M. Harle
Bob and Carol Harper
Ms. Janet Harris
Ms. Sue Harrison
Larry and Louise Haskett
Mr. Jeffrey Hasser
Mr. Noble Hatfield
Ms. Tiffany Hatfield
Ruth R. Hayes
Mr. William Hazen
Sharon and Jeff Hearn
Kathy Helms
Mr. Scott Hensley
Ms. Janice L. Hill
Mrs. Janice Hinke
Mr. Christopher Hodapp
Mrs. Martha Hoffman
Mr. Alan Hogan
Ms. Deborah Hoke
Ms. Sheryl L. Holko
Mr. Jeff Hopper
Ms. Janet M. Huebner
Ms. Carolyn Humke
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Humphrey
Ms. Sheila Hunter
Ms. Janet C. Hurley
Indy Eleven
Ms. Jean M. Ivy
Mrs. Jacqueline L. Jackson
Ms. Norma Jacobson
Mr. A. Scott Jenkins
Ms. Carolyn S. Jenkins
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Christian Jones
Mr. and Mrs. Randy Jones
Mr. Andrejs Kancs

Ms. Connie Kane
Mrs. Kara Kapke
Ms. Pamela Keating
Mr. James Kern
Mr. and Mrs. James Kienle
Mrs. Kim Kile
Ms. Jeanne M. Kiley
Pastor Randy King
Ms. Jane King
Dr. and Mrs. John C. Klein
Paul and Marolyn Knight
Sherrie and John Knighton
Ms. Carolyn M. Koontz
The Kortepeter Family
Ms. Rosemary Kriner
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan P. Kring
Ms. Christine Krok
Ms. Charlene Lakin
B.J. and Rosemary Lamble
Ms. Cytha J. Languell
Mr. Mitchell W. Lawrence
Mr. Mike Leakey
Ms. Amy M. Levander
John and Rosanne Lichkai
Ms. Rosemary Lyons
Mr. J. David Maas
MacAllister Machinery Co., Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. David A. Malson
Ms. Sharon Marjancik
Dr. Jeffrey Marshall
Miss Molly Martin
Dr. and Mrs. Douglas R. Maxwell
Mrs. Beneta J. Mc Connell
Mrs. Cora Marie McCafferty
Ms. Suzanne McClure
Ms. Katherine Ann McCord
Mr. and Mrs. Michael McCrory
Patricia F. McDaniel and Jack L. McDaniel
Mr. R.F. McElheny
Ms. Melissa McHaffie
Mr. Boris E. Meditch
Ms. Amie Michael
Dorothy L. Miller
Dr. and Mrs. Travis Miller
Mrs. Jean B. Miller
Sara W. Millis and James B. Millis
Mr. Marvin Mitchell
Gregory H. Mobley
Mr. Darrel D. Moore
Mrs. Doris L. Morone
Mr. Charles Mullen
Ms. Rita A. Mullin
Mrs. Pat Mundy
Margo Najena
Miss Melissa Nance
Ms. Sue Nelson
Ms. Robin G. Nichols
Jewell Nicola
Mr. Charles R. Noel
Mrs. Linda Ohlman
Mrs. Susan Orr
Mr. and Mrs. Clark L. Osborn
Pacers Foundation
David J. Page
Ms. Jane Paine
Mrs. Glenda J. Parker
Mr. and Mrs. John Parry
Mr. and Mrs. James Poole
Ms. Barbara L. Portell
Mr. Stephen P. Priddy
Ms. Myrta Pulliam
Ms. Leslie Ramusack
Ms. Deborah A. Rawlings
Roberta D. and Richard G. Rayback
Ms. Julie Reeve
Mr. Michael Render
Mr. Bob Reynolds
Bruce and Jan Reynolds
Ms. Barb Rhodes
Mr. Owen Rigsby
Mr. Byron Robinson
Mr. Larry R. Robinson
Ms. Joan M. Rocap
George Rogge
Mrs. Elizabeth Rollins
Mrs. Tracy Ross
Mrs. Trena Roudebush
Susan Rutsen
Mr. and Mrs. Joel A. Samson
Mr. and Mrs. Rick C. Sasso
L.K. Schwarz
Mrs. Sharon Scott
Ms. Nancy Seeman
Mrs. Patricia Severns
Ms. Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Ms. Pat Shaurette
James and Beverly Sheets
Ms. Julie Shewmaker
Mr. Michael E. Shireman
Ms. Susan J. Smale
Mr. Arnold E. Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Smith
Ms. Sheila Snider
Mr. Bryan Spear and Ms. Susan Dawson Spear
Tom and Barb Stader
Mr. Richard Steininger
Sandra and Robert Steinmetz
Mr. Dan Stephenson
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stephenson
Ms. Carol Sterenstein
Mrs. Janet Ann Sterrett
Ms. Natalie M. Stoelting
Mr. Sean Stone
Mr. Jarrod Stormo
Ms. Deborah J. Stucker
Tom and Doris Stump
Mrs. Joy S. Sullender
Ms. Claudia V. Swhier
Mr. Nathan Swingley
Mrs. Jean Swisher
Joanna and Bill Taft
Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Tanner
Mr. and Mrs. Mark B. Tarpey
Mr. Joshua Taylor
Taylor’s Bakery
Mrs. Susan Thomas
Ms. Glenda Thompson
Mr. and Mrs. A. Stephen Tilmans
Mr. Jason Tindall
Tammara Tracy and Mary Byrne
Mr. Timothy Tyler
Mrs. Martha Uberta
Miss Alena Van Arendonk
VanRheenen & Associates, P.C.
Joanne Wade
Ms. Amy Waggoner
Ms. Jo Ellen Walden
Mr. Donald R. Wann
Bill and Joan Warrick
Ms. Susan Weatherly
Ms. Gwendolyn Weber
Ms. Lois Jean Weimer
Mr. James Wetzel
Mr. Justin Whitaker
Ms. Kathy A. White
John and Heather Willey
Mr. Ernest Williams
Captain Dave Williamson

Honorial Gifts

In honor of The Ayres Clock – yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever
Mr. Douglas F. Linsmith

In honor of her 1980s Ayres Home Store and Men’s buying co-workers
Mrs. Beverly Hoffman

In honor of Baxter, Weston, Drake, Caroline and Alexandra
Mr. C. Davies and Ms. Carol Rogers Reed

In honor of Erin Michelle Beagle
Mr. Justin Schultz

In honor of Theresa Berghoff
Ms. Amy Berghoff

In honor of Leo Browning
Mr. Ben Bunn

In honor of Angela L. Cassidy
Mr. Kyle Cassidy

In honor of Charlie Christmas
Mrs. Julia Backus

In honor of June Dinn
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Vande Bosche

In honor of Charlotte Frandsen
Mrs. Alicia Harrelson

In honor of Don Hershberger
Ms. Jennifer Hershberger

In honor of his parents Vickie and Herb
Rev. Phillip Hucks

In honor of Diane Sewall Howard
Bob and Marlys Sewall

In honor of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Indiana State Police Department
Ms. Barbara Smith

In honor of Mary Kummings
Ms. Nancy Berst
Ms. Betty Cockrum
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Inui

In honor of Mary Kummings and Paul Smith, who asked Indiana Landmarks for help to restore the clock
Anonymous

In honor of Mary and Stan LaBuz
Mr. Jonathan Labuz

In honor of Mark and Dona Landrum
Mr. Jordan Landrum

In honor of Allen Mackey
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Mackey

In honor of Forrest R. McGinnis
Mr. Mark Chestnut

In honor of Betsy W. McIntyre
Mrs. Molly Chelovich

In honor of Johnny Newby
Mr. and Mrs. David Wise

In honor of Ruth Simmonds
Mrs. Karen Webb

In honor of Nancy Whisler
Mrs. Leann Emery

In honor of Dorothy and Emmet Wilder
Mr. Joseph Powers

In honor of Gene and Virginia Wilkinson
Mr. Robert Wilkinson

In honor of R.K., Erin and Lauren Williams
Mr. and Mrs. R. Kevin Williams

Memorial Gifts

In memory of Floyd and Lucille Andrews
Mrs. Jennifer Miller

In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ashmore and Mr. and Mrs. Oberlies
Mr. John Oberlies

In memory of F.M. Ayres, III
Ms. Nancy Ayres

In memory of Frederic M. Ayres, Jr.
Janet A. Carrington Foundation

In memory of Tom and Marge Beaven and Johnny and Ann Hutchings
Mrs. Jackie Hutchings

In memory of Margaret L. Beck
Mr. and Mrs. James Sloan

In memory of Patrice Elaine Bland
Ms. Barbara J. DeLisle

In memory of Georgia Bradley
Mrs. Diana Bradley

In memory of Anne M. Carroll and John and Eileen Tinder
Ms. Jan M. Carroll

In memory of Bob and Anne Crouch
Mr. David Crouch

In memory of Joyce Fields
Mrs. Sarah Fields-Boyd

In memory of Mrs. Robert C. Graham
David B. Graham

In memory of Bill and Vivian Gommel
Ms. Ruth Williams

In memory of George and Rosemary Hamilton
Ms. Rosemary Rodgers

In memory of Carolyn Sue Hapner
Mrs. Beth Robertson

In memory of Barbara B. Harger
Ms. Elizabeth J. Harger

In memory of Fred Hauck
Mrs. Meagan Hauck Schlegel

In memory of Naomi Noel Heaton
Mr. Michael Heaton

In memory of Robert and Sybil Henderson
The Honorable Robert F. Henderson, Jr.

In memory of John Elmer Barrett
Ms. Susan Montgomery

In memory of Weldon and Nita Johnson
Mrs. Kathy Thurston

In memory of Jean Knox
Chris Knox

In memory of Paul and Beatrice Krupp
Mrs. Patricia Simon

In memory of Nalena Campbell Lasley
Mrs. Janis Johnson

In memory of Kate Lavelle
Mrs. Megan Lavelle Trainor

In memory of Dorothy P. Linke
Mrs. Mary Whalin

In memory of Grace McCombs
Jan and Bill Stewart

In memory of Merrill and Margaret Deer
Mrs. Judith Borron

In memory of Diane F. Murray
Mrs. Emily Ward

In memory of Mary Lou O’Connell
Rev. Dan O’Connell

In memory of Sandra Osborn
Mrs. Misty Burton

In memory of Richard Pfister
Mr. Andrew Wilkinson

In memory of Deane and Caroline Pinney
Dr. and Mrs. Neil Pinney

In memory of June K. Posha
Ms. Susan Posha

In memory of Raymond M. Price
Ms. Margaret Carmony

In memory of Leslie Erin Roberts
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Roberts

In memory of David K. Rubins
Mr. Harry Rubins

In memory of Robert Hugo Selby
Ms. Susan Sklar

In memory of Karl O. Staufenbeil
Ms. Tina Connor

In memory of Dorotha Talkington
Ms. Kathy Hand

In memory of Anne Ayres Taylor
Janet F. Taylor and William M. Taylor

In memory of Margaret E. Ware
Mrs. Nancy Haberland

In memory of Alice Rosalie Young
Mr. Daniel Young

Support the Ayres Clock Restoration

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