Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Union Square Metronome

Union Square Metronome

The most confusing clock in New York.

New York, New York

Added By
Henry
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10541337@N00/...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/guttersnype/3...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/chschulz/4071...
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
July 2019   ipinguping / Atlas Obscura User
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
  Julius Spada / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

No visit to New York's Union Square is complete without pondering, and then subsequently becoming frustrated with the Metronome, a digital display of 15 numbers changing at various speeds, designed by Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel in 1999. It is clear that the clock, embedded in the facade of a building on the southeast corner of the square, has the time for its left-most digits--hours, minutes, seconds...but what does the rest of it mean?

Crossing the middle digit, the numbers begin to slow down again, leading to the right-most number, which scarcely moves. It turns out that reading from the right, the numbers denote the time remaining until midnight, hours, minutes, seconds, etc., moving faster towards the center. In other words: the time displayed (backwards) on the right of the clock + the time displayed on the left of the clock = 24 hours.

In this sense, the Metronome is something of a modern-day hourglass, with time flowing from its left side to its right, and moving fastest in the middle, like grains of sand in an hourglass. The Metronome also provides one bookend to Park Avenue South, the other being the more traditional clock at Grand Central Station. The two mirror each other, displaying exactly the same information in two very different ways.

Related Tags

Astounding Timepieces

Community Contributors

Added By

Henry

Edited By

ipinguping, chasepopt, Julius Spada, redchuck

  • ipinguping
  • chasepopt
  • Julius Spada
  • redchuck

Published

August 13, 2009

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metronome_(public_artwork)
  • http://artnerdnewyork.com/metronome/
Union Square Metronome
14th Street
4th Avenue
New York, New York, 10009
United States
40.734618, -73.990272
Get Directions

Nearby Places

14th Street-Union Square Moving Platforms

New York, New York

miles away

Relics of the IRT 14th Street-Union Square Subway Local Platform

New York, New York

miles away

Tammany Hall

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 405
Stories 89

Nearby Places

14th Street-Union Square Moving Platforms

New York, New York

miles away

Relics of the IRT 14th Street-Union Square Subway Local Platform

New York, New York

miles away

Tammany Hall

New York, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of New York

New York

New York

Places 405
Stories 89

Related Places

  • Winters Clock

    Stockport, England

    Winter's Clock

    Three mechanical figures—a soldier, a sailor, and Father Time—announce the time on this local landmark.

  • Ghantaghar

    Kathmandu, Nepal

    Ghantaghar

    This legendary clock tower has dominated Kathmandu’s skyline since it was built in 1894.

  • Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

    Ciudad Real, Spain

    Chime Clock at Casa del Arco

    Ciudad Real's former town hall found new life in 2005 when the chime clock with automatons was installed.

  • Lyon, France

    Horloge Charvet

    After decades of damage, this feat of timekeeping and automaton art has been given a new lease on life.

  • The 1921 Carpenter Clock

    Lititz, Pennsylvania

    Lititz Historical Foundation

    Among the may artifacts on display is a clock made of 50,000 individual pieces of wood.

  • Palm Beach’s clock tower.

    Palm Beach, Florida

    Worth Avenue Clock Tower

    This 25-foot tall clock tower commemorates the start of one of America's foremost shopping districts and the end of the historic Palm Beach Pier.

  • Paddington Real Time Clock by Maarten Baas

    London, England

    Paddington Real Time Clock

    Look up from the busy streets to discover how time is kept!

  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin

    Allen-Bradley Clock Tower

    This was once the largest four-sided clock in the world (yes, even bigger than Big Ben).

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.