The Wonderous Delacorte Clock

aT*%IT*%Is & ^ Y U T H E WON DROUS ^ & DE L AC ORT E U Y CLOCK IN & ^ C E N T R A L PA R K Y U hj ^ & Lesley M. M. Blume U Y & ^ thor n w illow Y U Broadside Library ^ & U Y z%IT*%IT*x

t h e w o n d r o u s d e l a c o rt e c l o c k i n c e n t r a l pa r k

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troll up fifth aven ue and into the

park; head for the Central Park Children's Zoo, and there, near the zoo’s entrance, you will behold the much-beloved Delacorte Musical Clock–a gi from publisher and philanthropi George T. Delacorte and surely one of this city’s mo whimsical delights.

Now, many landmark clocks are regal, iconic, and so on, but what diinguishes the Delacorte from the others: the band of bronze animals dancing around it. A penguin wields a tin drum; a plump hippo artfully saws away on violin; a bear slaps a tambourine. Also joining the fun: a concertina-playing elephant, a kicky little goat with pipes, and a horn-playing kangaroo. Two impish bronze monkeys hammer a bell perched on top of the clock.

Under normal circumances, an untamed passel of creatures would likely produce quite a racket, but somehow the Delacorte menagerie manages to churn out sweet-sounding chimes and all sorts of melodious tunes. Their repertoire boas April Showers and Eaer Parade in the spring months, Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells in December, and classics like Three Blind Mice all year round.

You‘d think that in the contemporary popular imagination, such an old-fashioned piece of machinery wouldn’t and a chance again today’s high-tech entertainments; aer all, even infants clutch iPads these days. Yet the clock continues to entrance and inspire large crowds every hour.

Aer all, the bronze Delacorte Clock provides the age-old wonderment of seeing inanimate objes coming to life–and this sort of magic will never pass out of fashion. Ju ask anyone who’s ever loved Pinocchio or the Velveteen Rabbit.

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