KAUFMANN'S CLOCK
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
IMAGE NUMBER 660
Kaufmann's, Pittsburgh's largest store, called itself
"The Big Store" with good reason: it occupied over
a million square feet of space in buildings built in
1898, 1913, and 1955.
The flagship store in downtown Pittsburgh was built in 1887 at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street . Kaufmann's flagship Big Store had a landmark outdoor clock at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street since the building's construction. The original clock was installed in 1887 and was free-standing with four dials. It immediately became a popular downtown meeting place, with the oft-used phrase "Meet me under Kaufmann's clock." With the expansion of the store in 1913, the current clock was installed.
The clock is a Pittsburgh icon, and is often featured in visual materials representing and marketing the city. Both the Kaufmann's flagship building and the clock are designated as Pittsburgh Historical Landmarks. Upon announcing the 2006 retirement of the Kaufmann's name and the store's rebranding as Macy's, it distributed tote bags printed with the clock image and its phrase "Meet me under the Kaufmann's clock" to honor the store's 135-year history. In 2013 the Kaufmann's Clock celebrated its 100th Anniversary. To celebrate, Macy's redecorated the store's windows along Smithfield Street with photos of the iconic clock from over the years,
TECHNICAL NOTES
The image was taken with a tripod-mounted Phase One 645 Camera at ISO 35. Exposure of 1/15thof a second and an aperture of F11. 80 mm Schneider Kreuznach lens with leaf shutter. The image was captured on a Phase One IQ180 80 megapixel digital back.