Street Clock at 522 Fifth Avenue, May 13, 1938.

The double-faced cast-iron clock at 522 Fifth Avenue was manufactured in 1907 by the Seth Thomas Company. Originally installed one block south on Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street in front of the American Trust Company, the clock was relocated in the 1930s when the American Trust Company merged with the Guaranty Trust Company. It was just one of a proliferation of large clocks installed on New York City streets, beginning in the 1860s. The clocks, which provided a unique advertising space for businesses, were also used by those on the streets for convenient time keeping.

Most of the late 19th and early 20th-century street clocks did not make it passed the mid 20th century, but a few did. In 1981 the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated eight of the sidewalk clocks still standing as landmarks.