Unusual Manhattan landmark - clock sidewalk at the corner of Maiden Lane and Broadway - no one will notice. Tourists usually do not look at the ground, and the clock literally lie under their feet - they are imbedded in the pavement, their Roman numerals and sharp arrows hidden under a durable glass.

Street clock on the cast-iron columns were common in US cities with the 1860s, but those in the walled sidewalk - are unique. They appeared here in 1899 - the jeweler William Bartmen decided therefore to draw attention to his store. Bartmen invented, and its worker Frank Homme Flip designed mechanical watches. They had a battery backup, in the dark, they light the hidden lights, which was then a rarity for Manhattan.

The audience was delighted. Watches have become famous. In 1906 the magazine "The technical world" called them the most unusual device among devices, recording time.

Hours had adjusted daily, they often needed minor repairs, which handled Homme. When he died in 1917, at the Bartmena fell on hard times: the vibrations from metro trains and pedestrians harmed device boots, but no one knew how to fix it. It was necessary to replace the original watches of the new - the traditional kind, round, with Arabic numerals and hands. People still loved them. About them they write poetry, compose stories, they became known worldwide. In the English Windsor jewelry company "Dyson & Sons" has produced the same clock (they also had great success). And when in 1928 Bartmen recorded in the Cairo hotel, the clerk immediately asked him whether he has the attitude to the very Bartmenu, who hours before the store.

Since hours were changed several times and the numbers and arrows. During the Great Depression of the mechanism he was, but again began to walk before the Second World War. Since then, the clock is ticking and in its brass frame, despite the numerous pedestrians shuffling on the glass, or attempts to break down the vandals artifact. Shop Bartmena also preserved only moved - now he's on Broadway, just around the corner. The owners wanted here imbedded in the pavement of a copy of the device, but the city authorities refused: in New York should be only one sidewalk clock.