The Big Time

From 200-foot-tall thermometers to 15-ton stoves, massive versions of everyday objects have long been a staple of exhibitions to draw crowds. But the Floral Clock, located in front of the Palace of Agriculture at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, more than earned its position in the oeuvre of the oversized. Measuring 112 feet in diameter, its minute hand alone was 74 feet long, weighed 2,500 pounds, and moved 5 feet every 60 seconds. On the hour and half hour, a mechanical hammer struck a 5,000-pound bell set at the top of the clock, producing a deep sound that could heard over the expo grounds.