Tic Toc – Let’s Meet at The Clock

Before texting and GPS, people had to make plans to meet at a central location in Downtown Pittsburgh.  Although the city itself is not very large you wanted to pick a place that was easy to recognize.  The Kaufmann’s Clock was that place.

Kaufmann’s Clock. | Photo Credit: David Kindervater

Not only it is a historic landmark but is has served as a destination for friends reconnecting, colleagues meeting for lunch, and perhaps even a stolen kiss or two.

Individuals know this beautiful bronze voyeur – who has endured prohibition, the Great Depression, multiple sports championships – as the Kaufmann’s Clock.

The clock has hung above the streets of Pittsburgh since 1913, but its 4-sided predecessor was established in 1884 on a post outside of the department store.  The infamous “Meet me at the Kaufmann’s clock” was popularized once it was hung to look down upon the city streets.

The clock is an ornate piece of history that weighs in at 2,500 lbs.

After 70 years of dirt and soot, it was cleaned in 1987 at a cost of $30,000. 

Kaufmann's Department Store was founded at the corner of Smithfield Street and Forbes Avenue in 1877 by four brothers from Germany. They started with a small clothing store on the South Side. But once situated Downtown, the store grew continuously, eventually covering the entire block from Forbes to Fifth.

In the 1880s and 1890s, aluminum, coal, glass, oil, steel and shipping fueled Pittsburgh’s roaring industrial economy. Every Saturday thousands, flush with a week’s pay, took street cars to Downtown, many heading to Kaufmann’s.

Target where old Kaufmann’s was once located. | Photo Credit: Jim Harris

The building now contains apartments, a restaurant and a Target — the clock was included when the building received a historic landmark plaque in 1981.

Once you met at the Kaufmann’s clock you could venture into the department store to do some shopping and grab lunch at the Tic Toc Restaurant – named to honor the iconic clock. 

The interior of the building has been changed, but the clock will remain a stoic reminder of the nostalgia that we all love. 

So next time you need a meeting place Downtown – be sure to text “Meet me at the Kaufmann’s clock.”

The historic Tic Toc Restaurant named in honor of the iconic Kaufmann’s clock.