New York Minute: Public Clocks that Make the City Tick - Book Launch

Talk Highlights:

• Get a sneak preview of Matthew White's new book, New York Minute: Public Clocks that Make the City Tick, which comes out October 7, 2025
• Discover how people relied on public clocks to keep them running on time, before watches and mobile phones were widely accessible
• See some of New York City's more extravagant clocks—found on towers, pediments, skyscrapers, in building lobbies, and even on sidewalks
• With his eye for design, Matthew White provides a fascinating virtual tour of some of the book’s most spectacular and curious clocks, encouraging us to look up and behold the city in a new way

About this Virtual Talk:

New York Minute’s twelve chapters, each devoted to a particular category of clock, are ordered as one might move through the city, from workday to weekend. The journey begins at Grand Central Terminal, where the highest number of public clocks are concentrated within a single building, and which itself is crowned by an extravagant Gilded Age clock. As we move toward the weekend, time slows down when we visit iconic New York clocks while shopping, going to church, or taking in the delights of automaton clocks. We end with the clocks of the lost Pennsylvania Station and the contemporary clock in Moynihan Train Hall, the latter reminding us that public timepieces are here to stay.

New York Minute contains over 150 images, including historical and contemporary photos, and charming drawings by the author. A foreword by Wendy Goodman, Curbed and New York Magazine’s design editor and host of “May I Come In?,” calls attention to this often overlooked aspect of the city’s history and design.

About the Author, Matthew White:

Matthew White is an “AD 100” interior designer and co-founder of White Webb, as well as an antiquarian, preservationist, and a former ballet dancer. He is the author of Italy of My Dreams: The Story of an American Designer’s Real-life Passion for Italian Style. An emeritus board member and former chairman of Save Venice Inc., he currently lives in the Hudson Valley with his husband and two dachshunds while working to revitalize the historic hamlet of Hillsdale, New York.