Beale Memorial Clock Tower
On January 22, 1912, the Bakersfield City Council voted to remove the clock tower, because its location in the middle of Chester Avenue was blocking a planned upgrade of the South Chester trolley line. After protest from citizens and consultation with Truxtun Beale, however, the tower was allowed to remain and the tracks were built around it, in spite of the congestion it caused to both trolley and automobile traffic.
The clock tower was badly damaged in the 1952 Kern County earthquake and subsequently demolished. Only the metal elements were saved: the clock works, bell, iron spiral stairwell, balcony railings, and iron grillwork.
In 1961 a group of local citizens organized to build a replica of the tower at a new site. The new tower, which incorporated the metalwork from the old structure, was built in front of the Kern County Museum on Chester Avenue, approximately 1.25 miles north of its original location. It was dedicated on December 13, 1964 to the County of Kern.
References
- ^ Beale Memorial Clock Tower. Kern County Museum. Accessed: 05-08-2010.
- ^ Architects Who Designed Buildings in Kern County. Kern County Museum. Accessed: 05-08-2010.
- ^ The Jewelers' Circular, vol. 48, no. 13 (April 27, 1904), p. 44.
- ^ Bailey, Richard, Heart of the Golden Empire. Windsor Publications Inc: Woodland Hills, California, 1984, ISBN 0-89781-065-1, Page 81.
- ^ Lynch, George.The Streetcars, Gone but not Forgotten Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. The Bakersfield Californian. Accessed: 05-08-2010.