Preservation Magazine, Summer 2021

How a Massive Indianapolis Timepiece Was Conserved

Every city has at least one public landmark that serves as a popular meeting spot. In Indianapolis, it’s the Ayres Clock on the former L.S. Ayres department store building. The 85-year-old, city-owned timepiece had its massive bronze case cleaned and repaired late last year, following the repair of its clockworks in 2016. “The clock was built at a time when people wanted something that was functional, but pretty as well,” says Paul Smith, the Indianapolis resident who managed the project, details of which are highlighted below. “The Ayres Clock is both.”

Infographic titled "Around the Clock," which shares various facts about the eighty-five-year-old Ayres Clock.

photo by: Clock photo: Indiana Landmarks

Meghan Drueding

Meghan Drueding is the executive editor of Preservation magazine. She has a weakness for Midcentury Modernism, walkable cities, and coffee-table books about architecture and design.

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