The old post clock at Colonel J. Gardiner Conroy Square in Brooklyn has been stuck at 3:38 for a while – for exactly how long, I can’t say. I’ve never seen the clock tell time. Yesterday I went to have a closer look. (Click on an image to open a gallery with captions.)

How many people notice this elegant old clock as they pass by?

How many of those notice that it has stopped?

The clock used to grace a streetcar route.

Looking down Flatbush Avenue toward Manhattan, you can see the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower. It tells time.

At the intersection of Flatbush and Sterling there is another clock just like the one in Conroy Square. It seems to be in good working order.

The city rushes past it, but it’s keeping up.

Update 1 January 2013

Yesterday, only a day after I took those photographs of the Conroy Square post clock, I discovered the the clock has been damaged: it’s no longer fixed securely to the post. The damage is especially evident when you look at the clock from the side:

A close up reveals the extent of the damage:

You can also see the separation of clock from post when you look toward the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower:

I have no idea what could have caused this to happen — vandalism? — but the clock is now in bad condition and more than ever in need of repair.