Monday, August 22, 2011

Clock towers quiz

I have always been fascinated by clock towers. Whenever I see a clock tower, I am tempted to take a photo. Maybe it’s because for many years I studied at a school which was famous for its beautiful clock tower; which sadly had been demolished and replaced by a modern replica; like so many old beauties in Singapore.


This quiz should be easy compare to my last one. Can you identify these 5 clock towers? The first one is not counted because the name of the school is given.






10 comments:

peter said...

1 - Si pai por
2 - corner of Hill street and Stamford Road

3 & 4 - let me think about it. Look slike some schools.

TC said...

1. SGH
2. Stamford Place
3. Grassroots Club?
4. ACS Ind
5. MGS

Tah Chung said...

(3) looks like Ghim MOh community centre. Chun See, it's good that you have enumerated the pics so that we do not have to count 1, 2, 3... with every attempt :). Thanks.

Anonymous said...

No. 3 - Ulu Pandan Community Club

Lam Chun See said...

Ulu Pandan CC @ Ghim Moh is correct. So you have all the answers. Very good.

Pat said...

Hmm, how about digital clock towers ?

Eg. The clock tower of the iconic iHUB (formerly the JTC HQ) along Jurong Town Hall Rd.

Since the 1970/80s, this clock tower used to display green digits -- before it was decommissioned sometime in the 2000s. A few months ago, the time is back up -- in red digits this time round.

Lam Chun See said...

I don't think digital clock towers can compare with good old fashion clock towers when it comes to beauty and character. Nevertheless, "one man's meat is another man's poison", so goes the saying.

Pat said...

Chun See: "I don't think digital clock towers can compare with good old fashion clock towers [...]"

Just wondering what happens when an analogue/ old-fashioned clock tower gets decommissioned. Has that happened before in S'pore ?

Unlike a digital clock (which simply gets switched off & goes dark), do the hands of a decommissioned analogue clock tower simply stop permanently at whatever time "the end" took place -- or perhaps get stopped at a more "aesthetically-pleasing" time like 12:00 ? Or does the clock itself get covered up, so as not to confuse passers-by ?

Back to the tradition of traditional clock towers ... I suppose these are primarily European/ Judeo-Christian influences ? I once read that when the Dutch rebuilt the Great Mosque of Banda Aceh (Baiturrahman Grand Mosque) in 1875, the architect incorporated an analogue clock tower into the frontage of the mosque. However, the Acehnese were/are not too pleased about this alien characteristic. (Apparently, the clock stopped at 8:25am local time, when the 26 Dec 2005 tsunami struck Aceh.)

Pat said...

From previous comment: "when the 26 Dec 2005 tsunami struck Aceh"

Oops, typo. I meant the 26 Dec 2004 tsunami.

Lam Chun See said...

Pat. Thanks for that interesting nuggest of info about clocks.

Nowadays, many schools have clock towers. For me - obviously biased - the older the better. I like the one at Hwa Chong. And also the one at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. I believe recently many people took photos of it.