Monumental Clock of Pachuca: Difference between revisions

The Pachuca's Monumental Clock is a clock tower 40 meters high, located in Plaza Independencia of the Historic centre of the city of Pachuca, in Hidalgo State, Mexico. Which was built between 1904 and 1910 to commemorate the Centennial of the Independence of Mexico. Its machinery is identical to that of Big Ben in London. The Monumental Clock is the best known symbol and representative of the city.

History

Kiosk in front of the Clock.

Clock at dawn.

Background

On January 20, 1901, the musical group known as the Banda de Rurales provides its first performance in a wooden bandstand in the Plaza de las Diligencias (now Plaza Independencia), directed by Candelario Rivas. The band gained popularity in the context of popular glory, a group of British mining companies proposing the governor Francisco Valenzuela, build a majestic tower of concerts, entrepreneurs were led by Alfonso María Brito. The project was approved until 1904, when she began her construction, but had to be suspended a year later for lack of funds.

In 1906, Governor Pedro L. Rodriguez returned the work, its design was by architect Tomás Cordero, and was built by engineers Francisco Hernández and Luis Carreón.

Construction

Clock at sunset.

Clock in the night.

Construction began in 1906 with contributions from mining companies established in the region, the total cost amounted to approximately 300 thousand pesos oro, used in its construction quarry of Tezoantla town located in the municipality of Mineral del Monte.

The process used in the construction was tongue and groove based treatment technique that is quarried pierce each block with a cylindrical bore at the top and sculpt a kind of spike in the lower and the latter fits into the drilled without limestone use any material on the boards, 35 quarriers worked on the first stage and 29 in the second, among the latter Jacinto and Pedro Hernández Baldovino were charged with sculpting acroteria crowning the clock face. For the placement of carillon and copper dome, was requested to intervene and also alacateros of the mining company of San Rafael.

Jesús Zenil collaborator of the minister plenipotentiary of Mexico in Austria-Hungary, purchased the machinery for the clock in England and sent it to Pachuca. He went to the factory founded by Edward John Dent and there discussed the acquisition clock and carillon that has a sound like that of its twin installed on the Big Ben, the machinery came to Pachuca years before the end of the construction of the tower and the installation was done by Tomás Zepeda. The clock was kept first in the Capilla de la Asunción, and later in the Casa de Francisco Rule until being installed in the tower.

The tower has open balconies, this was the place where the band would play, but it was a failed attempt as the height, the show could not be appreciated by people. The Banda de Rurales played at the kiosk attached to the tower again and finally ended the monument representing the Centennial of Mexican Independence. To complete the monument ordered a sheet of copper dome built in the Monterrey Iron Foundry Steel and opened in 1900. The piece was brought by rail and stood before the inauguration.

Opening

On September 15, 1910, shortly before 08:00 am, Alberto Dross, a German watchmaker verify the sound of bells and the accuracy of the hands of the four dials. At 12:00 pm, Gumersindo Meléndez put the finishing touches to the lighting of the plaza; About seven o'clock in the evening the plaza was completely obscured, at 21:00 the Rurales body arrival behind them came the great brass band. [6]

At 21:15, Governor Ladislao Pedro Rodríguez, accompanied by his wife, Virginia Hernández, and various authorities, he made his entry into the plaza where he presided over the ceremony, that began with an overture played by the Banda de Rurales then the lawyer Joaquín González gave the official speech, an oratory on the meaning of Independence and the effort to build the great tower, which was followed by an interpretation of the band, immediately followed by the students in the public schools of Pachuca Hidalgo played the anthem again the Banda de Rurales executed a musical prelude to a poem by Miss Luz Conde, the band ended its involvement with the overture of the opera Tosca and closed the program with the poet Miguel Bracho his recitation of a poem.

It took his first strokes at 23:00 pm that day. The governor on the ground floor, to hear the first ringing pulled the curtain that hid the marble plaque testified to that opening, then rose to the first plant, of the discovered balconies, where he gave the cry of independence and the Mexican National Anthem.

Mr. Dross had arranged the machinery of the clock, so that for fifteen minutes, the ringing is constant, which is added the controlled explosion of dynamite charges that triggered mining companies in the hills surrounding the town, after the fires were which fireworks continued. During the early years, care of equipment and operation of the clock, was in charge of Mr. Alberto Dross.