The "Having The Best Time Of Your Life" Story

The H.Z. Rhodes & Bro. Store on W. King St.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the first block of West King Street with my Nikon, trying to figure how to take a photograph of the second-oldest public clock in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Between the second and third floors of 38 West King Street sits a beautiful clock that has been keeping time for Lancastrians since the late. 1800s.  Story began on October 12, 1861 when Henry Zahm Rhodes began a jewelry business on the north side of West King Street in partnership with a Mr. C.J. Gillespie.  Nine months later Mr. Rhodes bought the other half of the business from Mr. Gillespie.  In 1868 Mr. Rhodes went into partnership with his brother Charles and the two of them bought the old "Lamb Hotel" on the south side of West King Street.  The following year they converted the hotel into a jewelry store and moved across the street into their new jewelry store.  

The store today is Max's Eatery.

Mr. Rhodes continued his jewelry business at that location until 1896 when he retired.  By 1903, the property was occupied by Metzger & Haughman who were dry-goods merchants.  Eventually the store became the John H. Troup Music House and was run by the family of "Route 66" songwriter and "Emergency" TV show star and actor Bobby Troup.  Bobby lived in Lancaster a short time before heading to California for a life in show business.  In December of 1924 the Troup store carried Brunswick Christmas records for 75 cents each and in 1928 you could buy an Ampico Symphonique baby grand piano for $1,300.  And, to top all that off, you could tell the time when you walked out the door of the store and look up at the beautiful clock.  Today, Max's Eatery fills the store with good treats from great burgers to cheesy tots to adult drinks.  

Lancaster's First Courthouse taken with a camera obscura.

And...the clock is as beautiful as ever, which you can see by the photo- graph.  But, where is the oldest clock if the one atop Max's Eartery is the second oldest.  That one sits atop Lancaster's iconic Courthouse on the corner of East King Street and North Duke Street.  

Lancaster current courthouse with the city's oldest clock.

Lancaster's first courthouse was built of brick in 1739 in the center of the city.  It, too, had a clock atop it, and was the home of the United States for one day on September 27, 1777.  In June of 1784 that Courthouse burned to the ground and was replaced in 1884 with the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument that sits on that site today.  Lancaster's current courthouse was opened on August 25, 1852.  

Hamilton Watch which is now The Watch Tower Apartments.

Atop the building sat a cupola that rose from the roof and featured a bell tower which carried a clock on all four sides.  Lady Justice sits atop the bell tower.  That clock is the oldest timepiece in the city of Lancaster.  It was made by Lancaster clockmaker John Eberman, Jr. who had a shop in Lancaster.  Now, there are a few other timepieces spread around the city of Lancaster that are memorable to me, though they aren't as old as the other two you just read about.  

Bowman Jewelry Store and School of Watchmaking.

There was a large clock that sat atop Hamilton Watch which is located on Columbia Ave. on the outskirts of the city.  That beautiful building still remains in Lancaster and has been converted into luxury apartments.  The clock is still in position to keep it's residents on time.  The final clock I remember was on the corner of East Chestnut Street and North Duke Street.  It sat on the corner wall of Bowman's Jewelry Store and School of Watchmaking.  Large clock that no longer keeps time since the building is unoccupied at present.  My father graduated from Bowman's School and became a watchmaker at Meiskey's Jewelry Store a block from Bowman's.  I'm sure many cities and towns have memorable timepieces for all to see, but I'm fairly certain they aren't quite as old as the few that dot the city of Lancaster.  It was another extraordinary day in tne life of an ordinary guy.

One final view of the second oldest clock in Lancaster