Rumors have been swirling around campus since the mysterious red obelisk located between the Casey and Garrand buildings on upper campus appeared last year. A few weeks ago, the gossip was finally extinguished after it was revealed that the obelisk was serving as a placeholder for a new piece of artwork—a gilded vintage street clock.

Built over a hundred years ago, Seattle University’s recently obtained clock was one of many street clocks installed around the Seattle area, with this one in particular previously standing in front of a jewelry store at the corner of First and Union in downtown Seattle.

In the 1950s, street clocks decreased in popularity, and this clock was put into storage. In 1989, the clock was sold to the owner of F.X. McRory’s, a restaurant in Pioneer Square and what the clock is named after, where it was situated for nearly thirty years. 

After the restaurant closed three years ago, owner Mick McHugh, a Seattle U alumnus who graduated in 1965, generously donated it to the university. Since then, the clock has been in storage at Seattle U, before being mended by a clock repairman hired by the university. Standing tall at 20 feet and weighing nearly 1.5 tons, the clock was quite a feat to repair and install on Seattle U’s campus.

McHugh expressed that maintaining historic clocks such as this one is vital to preserving the history of Seattle.

“There’s only maybe a dozen of these left in Seattle now. That’s why it was important to preserve this and keep it,” McHugh said.

When determining where to place the clock on campus, McHugh and the administration eventually decided to put it between Casey and the Garrand building, the oldest building on campus.

“[The clock is] next to the building that was here in 1891 when the university started… So this is the appropriate corner for it,” McHugh said.

With the words “Time to Dine” inscribed on it from its days in front of the restaurant, the clock debuted in its new home Oct. 27th, with the installation cost being covered by McHugh and several of his former classmates. 

This clock not only has historical significance in Seattle because of its past presence in Pioneer Square, but also because it was made by a company of Seattle-based clockmakers, Joseph Mayer & Brothers Co., which produced about 100 street clocks. Only 15 of the 46 Mayer-manufactured clocks are still known to exist. Due to the limited amount of historical clocks remaining in Seattle, this clock’s new placement at Seattle U makes it all the more noteworthy. 

Second-year History and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies double Major Caroline Heege also appreciates the location of the new clock on campus. While she was originally confused about why the clock was there and what its significance was, she isn’t opposed to its new home.

“I like the clock. I think it’s a great addition to the campus and that it really enhances the history of the area around it, and connects the campus more to the Capitol Hill community,” Heege said. 

When commenting on the installation of the new clock, Seattle U President Eduardo Peñalver highlighted the importance of art on the Seattle U campus.

“In the Jesuit tradition, there is a strong emphasis on art as a source of inspiration for our imagination, which plays a central role in Jesuit spirituality. Historic artifacts, like this clock, also connect us to our place and to our past,” Peñalver wrote in an email to The Spectator. 

President Peñalver stated that the clock is not the only new piece of artwork coming to campus in the near future. He also directed our attention to a mysterious concrete platform built at the beginning of the school year in the corner of the Union Green. 

“The most significant upcoming installation will be a large sculpture by the artist Tom Wesselmann to be installed on the west end of the Union Green sometime in early 2026,” Peñalver wrote. “Like the clock, that sculpture and resources for its installation were a gift from friends of Seattle University.” 

Peñalver also commented on how the clock will leave a lasting legacy on Seattle U’s campus long after his tenure as president, which will conclude at the end of this March.

“I hope the clock becomes a beloved landmark on our campus and that Redhawks will say ‘meet me at the clock’ for generations to come,” Penalver wrote.