Our lovely Larchmont Village clock automatically reset one hour ahead at 2 a.m. Sunday morning marking the first day of Daylight Saving Time. We love taking the time every Spring to tell the story of our village clock.
The idea for the clock came from Wilshire Rotarians Sandy McClean, Earl Vaugh and Elsa Gillham, still an active Rotarian you will see at the Christmas Tree Lot and Pumpkin Patch, who was also a member of the Larchmont Boulevard Association at the time, as a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wilshire Rotary. At the time, the project cost about $15,000 to complete.
John Miron, a local accountant who served as president of the Wilshire Rotary told us the story of spearheading the installation of the clock tower in 2005.
Miron credits then-City Councilmember Tom LaBonge for assigning a staff member to the project and helping him get clearances from all the various city agencies involved. The power was provided by the Bureau of Street Lighting, and the Department of Transportation signed off on the location, as well as Building and Safety. City crews came out and dug the hole and laid the small concrete foundation for the clock.
The first year it was installed, the clock didn’t reset and Miron told us he got nearly 50 phone calls saying the clock was wrong. But the problem was soon corrected when he contacted the manufacturer, who came out and made the adjustment. Ever since then, it’s been running on time.
“I wish we had the foresight to put it in the middle of the street,” said Miron, looking back, “but it was an ordeal to get the clock installed at all.”
