Former Main Street fixture returns

By Andy Rieger

August 26, 2008 12:00 am

— A vintage bank clock, stored and nearly forgotten for many years, will tick and tock again on Norman's Main Street.
The lighted clock formerly hung on the First National Bank building on the southwest corner of Main Street and Peters Avenue. After the bank building was torn down in 1958, the clock was put on the bank's new walk-up window.
The restored clock is the main feature of the Legacy Plaza at Main Street and Jones Avenue. Representatives of banks that adorned the corner for many years will be at the clock plaza's dedication ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Friday. After the ceremony, guests are invited to ride a CART trolley to the new OU College of Architecture downtown campus open house and cookout.
A 1984 photo shows the clock but its whereabouts after that are something of a mystery. The bank was closed by federal regulators in May of 1986.
The walk-up was torn down later leaving only the small parking lot. City officials started talking about restoration about 10 years ago. By that time, parts of the clock were scattered around the offices of a stain glass window restoration company, a city office and the city's parks and recreation garage.
City parks planner James Briggs said the final plaque for the plaza has yet to be cast. Organizers are looking for old photos or any information showing when the clock was first installed on the bank building.
"We think it was early to mid-1920s judging by the age of the clock," Briggs said. "If someone has old photos or information on the clock, we can still literally change the plaque before it is cast."