The World Time Today

Within a wall of London’s bustling Piccadilly Circus Underground Station, a curious contraption circumnavigates the globe. The result of a collaboration between architect Charles Holden and John Mowlem & Company, ‘The World Time Today’ was integrated into the station during its expansion and redesign in 1928.

This unique linear clock features a westward-scrolling time band across the equator that moves at the same pace as the Earth's rotation, tracking the passage of time across the globe. Small illuminated light bulbs draw attention to select cities: London, Cape Town, Sydney, New York, Victoria (Canada), and Buenos Aires, a symbol of the burgeoning global consciousness of the interwar period,  

Though the timepiece doesn’t provide pinpoint accuracy due to the varying nature of global time zones, The World Time Today is fascinating to watch. Since the map remains as it was in the 1920s, it is curious to admire as a record of the geopolitics of the early 20th century.