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Downtown San Antonio’s historic Hertzberg Clock ticks again

Texas Public Radio | By Kory Cook

Published May 13, 2026 at 6:31 PM CDT

The top of the Hertzberg Clock, which now sits at the corner of N. St Mary's and Houston St. in front of the I.B.C. building in downtown San Antonio. — The top of the Hertzberg clock, which now sits at the corner of N. St Mary's and Houston St. in front of the IBC building in downtown San Antonio.

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The Conservation Society of San Antonio gathered at the downtown corner of N. St Mary’s and Houston streets to celebrate the restoration of the Hertzberg Clock in downtown San Antonio.

Crafted in Boston by E. Howard & Co, the 17-foot-tall-cast-iron timepiece was installed in San Antonio for the Eli Hertzberg Jewelry Company in 1878.

The Goodman family donated the clock to the Conservation Society of San Antonio in 1982. It had been non-functional since 2022.

Conservation Society President Lewis Vetter found clock restorer Benny Courtney of New Braunfels.

“It was a nationwide search and ended up being somebody in New Braunfels. What’s beautiful about this, there’s only like one other key-wound driven clock. I’ve been in other towns where they're similar, but they’re all electric,” said Vetter.

Conservation Society of San Antonio staff members (from L to R): Director of Operations Tammy Dorsey, Properties Assistant Robert Leoz, Director Elaine Vetter, and President Lewis Vetter

The only U.S. comparison to the functional antiquity of the Hertzberg in San Antonio is a 14-foot-tall, cast-iron antique clock, restored from the 1900s, and installed in 2020 at Bogardus Plaza in New York City's TriBeCa neighborhood at Hudson Street and West Broadway.

The historic 1878 Hertzberg clock at the corner of N. St Mary's and Houston St. in San Antonio. Previously on Commerce St. the clock was relocated due to expansion and construction. — The historic 1878 Hertzberg Clock at N. St Mary's and Houston St. in San Antonio. Previously on Commerce St., the clock was relocated in 1910 to Houston St. due to city construction.

Vetter said clockmakers are aging and few are taking up the business, especially those who repair key-wound driven clocks like the Hertzberg clock. Courtney took the clock back to his shop and repaired two pivot points for the gears that have become oval-shaped due to wear and tear. He manufactured and reassembled the parts and now it’s telling the correct time for the first time in four years.

The inside of the 1878 Hertzberg clock — An open door on the 1878 Hertzberg Clock to reveal the inner, key-wound driven components required to operate the clock.

The clock first sat on Commerce St., but expansion and construction moved it to Houston St. where it stands in front of the International Bank of Commerce building. Staff from IBC helps repair and maintain the clock year-round.

The historic 1878 Hertzberg clock from across the street on the corner of N. St Mary's and Houston Street in San Antonio. — The historic 1878 Hertzberg Clock from across the street on the corner of N. St Mary's and Houston Street in San Antonio.

Vetter said the phrase “Meet me at the clock” has evolved since the turn of the twentieth century and is now inherent to this space and the citizens of San Antonio.

“Generations have grown up with this clock here, and so it’s become a reference for them. Where it is, what it does, and what it represents of that stability and permanence of what we do,” said Vetter.

And now that the Hertzberg clock works again, you have no excuse for being late to your next downtown appointment.

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