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Louisville, Kentucky, circa 1906. "The Post Office." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
My guess would be a clock as few people had expensive pocket watches back then. Not sure the wristwatch was even around yet.
Many such clocks existed around the city including at least one steam powered one. (I'd like to see how that worked). Lots of buildings had clocks too.
Swamp Daddy
My guess is that it is a gong bell housing for robbery, burglar, or fire alarms for a nearby building.
Mounted atop the curb at the left side of the intersection there is an item of street furniture. It is approximately six feet tall, and bears a resemblance to an old drug store 'your weight for a penny' scale. Does anyone in the Shorpy braintrust know what it was?
This was replaced by a new post office and customs building in 1933. The Postal Castle met its inglorious end in 1942-43.
Seems like a mammoth sized building just for sorting letters and whatnot in circa 1900 Louisville. Unless post offices of the past housed a multitude of other govt. entities?
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