Shortly after the crowd’s smartwatches and smartphones struck 1 p.m., a vintage electric street clock that left for Charlotte in the 1970s returned to its original home in downtown Gastonia.
On Friday, an excited crowd cheered as the clock rolled along West Main Avenue on a trailer pulled by a pickup truck and escorted by Gastonia Police officers on motorcycles.
The 15-foot-tall, four-sided clock arrived in front of the old Citizens National Bank building at 212 W. Main Ave., and remained there for more than an hour as its admirers welcomed it home.
It’s at this location where the clock stood guard in front of the bank for more than 50 years, beginning in 1920. For many in the community, the clock was viewed as a centerpiece of prosperity when downtown Gastonia was booming.
