Clock tower
|
|
Missing image
Clocktower.jpg
Clocktower.jpg
|
A clock tower is a tower built with a large clock face on one or more (often all four) of its sides so as to be visible to a large number of inhabitants of an area. The mechanism inside the tower is known as a turret clock. It often marks the hour (and sometimes segments of an hour) by sounding large bells or chimes, sometimes playing simple musical phrases or tunes. The clock tower is usually part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall, but many clock towers are free-standing. Often the tallest structure in town, clock towers were a popular feature of city life before the middle of the twentieth century, when most people didn't have accurate and reliable watches to carry with them. Two of the most well-known clock towers are the Clock Tower, often colloquially referred to as Big Ben, of the Palace of Westminster in London, and the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.