Spring is in the air. Or at least, here in Michigan anyway, the air’s a bit warmer, and things are starting to thaw out. We’re daydreaming of spending time outdoors – perhaps at a park! Maybe even hanging out under a park structure . . .
Potlucks in the park took a backseat to pandemic precautions in 2020. But hopes are high that Summer 2021 will look more normal. Maybe we can once again be able to crowd under a park shelter with a large group of family and friends. Can you smell the burgers cooking on the charcoal grill? Taste the salty potato chips? Hear the laughter in the air?
It’ll be a few months before that scene comes to life. But now is the time to start planning your park improvements. Spring is an excellent time to spruce up your park or outdoor space.
One way to do improve your park is to add a park structure or pavilion.
What Are The Benefits of Park Structures?
Park structures and pavilions protect visitors from the elements. They provide a place to congregate, or just relax. Park structures come in all shapes and sizes. They also provide many benefits:
- Amphitheaters and Band Shells can host outdoor music performances or theatrical presentations. They can also be used for graduations, weddings, and more!
- Pergolas and Gazebos provide a shady spot to picnic, stretch, or sit and relax.
- Picnic Shelters and Pavilions provide space to host community events and family gatherings.
- Trailhead Structures often house restrooms and storage.
- Customized Park Structures can be designed to integrate seamlessly into the neighborhood. They often set the tone for entire park restoration projects.
- Clock Towers provide a convenient landmark – and tell visitors how much time they have left. Click here for a data sheet on Lumichron/Icon Shelter clock towers.
Even if your park structure isn’t a clock tower per se, you should consider including a clock in your park.
Why Your Park Structure Needs a Clock
You might be wondering why a public place needs a clock. After all, almost everyone carries a cell phone-shaped pocket watch. Can’t they use that to tell the time?
Well, they could.
But every time you pull out your phone, it pulls you out of the moment. That means you have to pause the conversation with your best friend. It means the swing you’re pushing your son on slows to a stop. You have to stop doing what you’re doing to take out your phone.
And once you have your phone out, it’s hard to only look at the time. You see notifications from missed texts and emails. There’s a voicemail you have to listen to. Social media posts you haven’t read yet. Pretty soon, you’re sucked into a digital rabbit hole.
Live IRL (In Real Life!) – Stay in the moment
What if, instead, you could just look up and see the time? That’s the beauty of a clock on a park structure! Integrating a clock into the outdoor space allows you to remain in the moment as long as possible. You never have to wonder what time it is. You know just by looking up.
Lumichron Collaborates with ICON Shelters To Create Striking Park Structures with Clocks
We’ve been working on park structure projects with ICON Shelter Systems, Inc. since 2005. We’ve partnered with the Holland, Michigan-based company on several projects, as well as at Trade Shows across the country. ICON Shelters and Lumichron are both focused on long-lasting quality and customer satisfaction.
ICON Shelters produces all types of park structures in addition to those with clocks. They work with a broad base of professionals who design, build and maintain public open spaces. Their installation teams can erect a clock tower or park structure anywhere in the country. All structures and clocks are shipped ready for installation.
Want to see how some of these LUMICHRON-ICON Collaborations came to life? Here are a few examples:
ICON Shelter Systems and LUMICHRON Collaborated on Clock Tower for Portage Central Schools in Portage, Michiganb
Our latest project with ICON Shelters was a clock tower for a new courtyard at Portage Central Schools. The square tower is 4 feet wide and 12 feet high, and sits on a round dias in a courtyard between the High School and Middle School. The tower was erected as part of a centennial celebration. Its installation capped off construction on the new Portage Central athletic facilities.
After ICON Shelters installed the tower, Lumichron provided onsite installation of the 4 clocks. The 30-inch clocks feature an Arabic dial design, which complements the modern open-work metal of the tower structure. A clock controller mounted on the back of one of the clocks keeps time – it also turns illumination on and off at dusk and dawn, respectively.
ICON and LUMICHRON Collaborated on Cast Bronze Bell for All-Ability Playground in Utah
We also recently supplied a cast bronze bell for an ICON Shelters structure at a playground in South Jordan, Utah. The East Riverfront Playground is an accessible, all-ability playground. The unique playground is wheelchair-accessible, and is full of elevated sensory components. One of the sensory components is our bell tower that chimes!
The cast bronze bell we supplied for the park is a vintage McNealy casting, and it weighs about 600 lbs. You can see a video of it “playing” in our shop here.
Inside the bell is an electromagnetic striker. The striker is controlled by a Tempus Clock-O-Matic controller. It rings on the hour with as many strikes as hours. It’s essentially a clock without a face! The controller was programmed for ringing to be heard from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.
Other LUMICHRON and ICON Collaborations
Other projects we’ve done with ICON Shelters include:
- A 4-sided clock tower for the Village of Wheeling, IL
- A 4-sided clock tower with a brick base for Gainesville State College in Pittsburgh, PA
- A park shelter topped with two clocks in Stevensville, MI
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Spring is on its way!
That means you should start planning your park improvements today. Now is the perfect time to design and install a park structure in your public outdoor space.
As always, if your project includes a clock, we’re here to help! Whether you have design questions or are ready for a quote, feel free to drop us a line: info@lumichron.com
