Southwest University Ball Park - Clock

Mary Mead Lynch- the inspiration for Insights,was a dreamer, a doer, a real-life heroine, who nurtured the spirits of our creative souls and made us know that with love, courage, perseverance, and optimism, all things are possible. E. Howard Tower Clock dedicated by friends and family to the memory of Mary Mead Lynch 1938 - 1992. A special thank you for his dedicated efforts to install the E. Howard Tower Clock David Seay - Master Clockmaker The E. Howard Tower “Roundtop” clock, with time and strike functions, was manufactured in the mid-1880s by the E. Howard Company of Boston, Massachusetts. The clock was originally installed in the 180-foot Gothic tower of the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Abandoned for more than 40 years, in 1990 the clock was removed in sections by a rope from the tower by a clock enthusiast. It was a dangerous undertaking, which required removing the movement in sections through a manhole seven stories above the church pipe organs, which were entirely beneath these precarious operations. The movement was then reassembled in the clock enthusiast’s garage. In January of 1993, the clock was acquired and restored by the Balzer family, tower clock specialists of Freeport, Maine, and purchased by the Mary Mead Lynch Memorial Committee of El Paso, Texas. The tower clock, with it’s rich history, was installed in the then newly relocated home for Insights - El Paso Science Museum, known as the “Insights Museum.” A dedication ceremony in memory of Mary Mead Lynch, Chair of the Junior League of El Paso “Insights” project, was held on September 10, 1993. In the Spring of 2014, the clock found its new home as part of the Southwest University Ballpark. This clock memorializes the efforts of thousands of volunteers, board members, and a dedicated staff of Insights who, for more than twenty years, gave to the children of El Paso a remarkable participatory science museum. Insights El Paso Science Center: The “Insights Science Museum” opened its doors to the public in 1980 in the basement of the El Paso Electric Company. Thanks to the Junior League of El Paso, Inc., the Dodson family, and other outstanding community leaders, the museum was relocated to a 25,000 square foot building on Santa Fe Street in 1992, where the ballpark now stands erected. Identified as critical for the future of our region’s youth, the Insights Museum became a full “hands-on” science center, modeled after Exploratorium in San Francisco, California, and served the El Paso and surrounding communities for 20 years at this location. The E. Howard Tower Clock stands as a proud landmark honoring that vision. On September 10, 1993, at the dedication ceremonies in honor of Mary Mead Lynch, a founder of Insights, the clock became the official time keeper for the city of El Paso.