Colgate Clock
what time does BOTW come out today? Tooth hurty | 105 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ, 07302
51st ed. | August 8th, 2025 (happy birthday, mom!)
The other week, I was giving my #1 employee (Kerstin) and her parents an impromptu tour of Battery Park City. All three of these individuals are avid BOTW fans (I think) and thus have a thirst for hyper-specific local knowledge. When it comes to sharing facts, I typically show up with things like hearsay, gossip, and wild interpretations of loose truths. Needless to say, they left that tour thirsty as hell.
One of the stops that made me feel particularly embarrassed was the Colgate Clock. It only took one question, “What’s the reason for that?” for me to stop in my tracks. There I was, caught with my intellectual pants down, unable to answer the simplest question about a giant clock I literally see every day from my apartment.
So here I am, fresh off a Wikipedia binge, ready to share with you all the clock knowledge you never asked for. And I hear you thinking, “ANOTHER clock-centric Building of the Week, bitch?” Well… yes! My birthday’s coming up, so I feel drawn to time-based structures, okay? Let me be.
On the Jersey City waterfront, just south of the Goldman Sachs tower, sits a giant octagonal clock with bright red hands. At 50 feet wide, it’s hard to miss - especially from my living room.
Inspired by the shape of a bar of Colgate Octagon Soap, the Colgate Clock is a relic of Jersey City’s industrial past and one of the largest clocks in the world. The original version (only 38 ft, basically a pocket watch) was made of mostly wood and was built in 1906 to mark Colgate’s centennial. Eighteen years later, they packed it up and shipped it to Colgate’s plant in Clarksville, Indiana, making way for the fancy new metal model we know and love today.
When I found out that Colgate has been around for over 200 years, I audibly said “DAMN.” I didn’t realize people were rocking with toothpaste like that back in the day - no offense to all the centenarians in the chat. Turns out, they weren’t. Colgate started as a soap and perfume company. Quick history break:
In 1806, 23-year-old William Colgate founded Colgate’s Soap and Perfumery Works, where he made candles, starch, and soap. In year two, he partnered with Francis Smith and renamed it “Smith & Colgate.” Five years later, he bought Smith out and sold the shares to his brother. So, naturally, the company became… William Colgate & Company. Because Bill wanted everyone to know he IS that bitch.
The company then went on to change their name like 15 other times. If you want a detailed breakdown of the rest of all of that, this article sums it up perfectly: https://www.hobokengirl.com/colgate-clock-jersey-city/
The clock used to perch atop a massive Colgate-Palmolive factory, surrounded by the scent of soap and toothpaste. When the factory was demolished in the 1980s, the clock was relocated to ground level. It’s since been nudged slightly south to make way for development and upgraded with LED lights, but it still bears the iconic Colgate name and still keeps perfect time (kind of).
All of these little adjustments are, ☝🏼🤓 of course, super interesting and important for all of us to know. It feels like everything about Colgate can’t seem to just fucking sit still. Like, damn, what’s in the toothpaste, cocaine and capitalism? (ancestor of doses & mimosas mayhaps?)
Locals have developed quite the attachment to this ol’ clock. Originally, they had the clock up there, big-brother style, to keep their employees on time. Over time, ferry commuters, boaters, and anyone who grew up nearby became somewhat dependent on this time teller. So much so that whenever they’ve stopped it for repairs, it causes a big stink!
Time’s a funny thing. Without it, we get all weird. With it, we get all weird. I find that beautiful. Sort of like how sandcrabs need the waves to survive, but they also get all turned around in them. Like how owls need the darkness to hunt but can also get lost in it. Like how pressure can push us to do things we never thought we could, but it also can crush us into never trying.
Idk. If time is a social construct, then I’m (insert something that makes sense here).
You can see the clock in the background of this video of two NYPD scuba officers being airlifted from the river. The full story on this in the comments.
Fun Facts
The minute hand is 25 feet 10 inches long and the hour hand 20 feet long!! I can’t even fathom that. I gotta go visit this soon.
I fucking adore when companies are just someone’s last name, but it’s become such a common brand name that it’s almost a shock to hear it as someone’s last name. Ie. Joseph Pilates, James Dyson, Smart & Final’s Jim Smart and Hildane Final, etc.
In June 2021, this clock was 12 minutes slow for like a month! I noticed this when waiting for the Fourth of July fireworks. Maybe people were using it as an excuse to show up late for work. A classic dog-ate-my-homework type situation.
Author’s Notes
First a park, now a clock? What is this? Thing of the week?? You guys have GOT to keep me in check, or being able to do whatever I want will go to my head (more than it already has).
HUGE PSA!!!!! I’D LIKE TO WISH A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOTHER!!! Everyone wish her a happy birthday in the comments or else. Making my mom laugh truly gives me life, so thank you, Mom, for still finding me funny. I love you and I can’t wait for you to read this probably in a few weeks when you get around to it.
Want to read the previous weeks? Check out the collection on my website here!
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Have something funny to say? Any questions? Fun Facts? Deep, dark secrets? Lmk here:
Okay so last weekend, a speedboat’s engine died and the boat essentially gently crashed into a pier down here. A huge helicopter dropped off two people in scuba suits, because that’ll help, and bunch of NYPD boats came to the rescue. Three people were pulled off and the boat was towed away to the boat equivalent of an impound lot.
More like it comes out at tooth ifty one, am I right?!