The first time I spotted a Detex Watchclock Station in the wilds was about 3½ years ago, on a long fence at New Calvary Cemetery in Queens. That Detex station contained nothing but some dirt, until I stashed a couple of coins and a calling card for my website therein, as a gift for whoever might have the kind of eyes that see things like this.
I looked around for others, spending a couple of enthusiastic afternoons walking the perimeters of Old and New Calvary on a quest, a mission to find more Detex Watchclock Stations.
It didn’t take much of this scouting around to conclude that future sightings of these Watchclock Stations, in the real-world environment where they were actually used, would be few and far between.
Today, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted one again, this time not in a remote, desolate part of Queens but right in my own back yard, on a spot I’ve probably walked past a thousand times.
On a wall at the Kaufman Astoria studios, next to an unmarked door, sat this mighty jewel, pristine in condition. Unlike the first Watchclock Station I found it actually still contained the key.
DETEX WATCHCLOCK STATION
DETEX WATCHCLOCK STATION
What is a Detex Watchclock Station? Until as late as 2011 these staions served as check-in points for security guards who patrolled the grounds. As I wrote back in December, 2016:
The key would have been used by a security guard to check in at the station to prove they were doing their job of patrolling the premises. The security guard carried a mechanical clock and the key was used on the clock to record the time and location of the check-in on a piece of paper. The boss would review these papers to verify that the guards had made the rounds to all the watchclock stations on the premises.
Besides the fence at New Calvary the only other place I saw one of these was in a display case at Sparr’s Antique and Militaria shop on Broadway near 42nd Street. I don’t know what price Sparr’s asked for their Detex but if eBay is any indication these watchclock stations are not worth much, however interesting they might be. You’d be lucky to get twenty bucks for one on eBay.
Thanks to your post, was able to figure out what this was. Santa Barbara historic Superior Court.
???
I work for a campus police department for a university in southern Illinois, near St. Louis, MO. One of the satellite campuses we patrol has several of these watchclock stations around. The satellite campus I work at mostly now was a small college in the late 1800’s and I think these stations may have been used then or shortly after. Before my department started patrolling this particular campus a little over four years ago, they had used an unarmed security guard company and they used a slightly more modern version of this called a “Deggy”. https://www.deggy.com/
That’s a cool comment. I spotted another DETEX station just a couple of weeks ago. Different style and name. I could not open it and did not want to try too hard. Here it is: https://youtu.be/k1GXAwmlKTk?t=2261
I have a det x watch clock station that my husband found where he was working . There are no keys with it just th box I found it very interesting when I read about it and how it was used .The one I have says it is from 1923.. I wanted to post a pic of it but am not sure how to do it it was found in a hotel in Atlantic City N. J.