CINCINNATI — Carl Fox rescued the original Lunken Airport Terminal clock from the trash more than 40 years ago.
He spent years repairing the Art Deco clock, with ‘Gruen watch time’ etched on its face. It was a centerpiece when the terminal opened in 1937.
Fox donated the restored clock back to the airport, believing it would hang there in perpetuity.
When the clock went missing earlier this year, he called the WCPO 9 I-Team for help.
“I felt like it had been stolen,” Fox said. “My hope is that that clock still exists somewhere. That it is still in the possession of the city and that it can be restored and put into that place.”
WATCH: We try to find the historic clock
Fox was a maintenance worker at the city-owned Lunken Airport. He discovered the rusty clock during the clean-out of storage bunkers in late 1983 or early 1984.
“It had a crack in it, and you could see it had about three inches of water inside of it. I picked it up, dumped the water out and asked my boss what would you like done with it,” Fox said. “He said that’s the original lobby clock. It’s gone under water two or three times; it’s no good throw it in the dumpster.”
Fox was stunned, because he appreciated clocks and Cincinnati history.
“This was a historic airport, so I did not feel right about it,” Fox said. “So, I stole it. Instead of putting it in the dumpster, I put it in my truck.”
Fox worried about being fired for taking that clock, even as he spent years restoring it.
The interior clock was rusted. He sanded it down and gave it a gloss white interior finish. He redid the dress ring in gloss white and painted the outside a cranberry color. He replaced the burned-out transformer and found a new motor.
“The brass works I soaked in WD-40 for about a week, and then, with a toothbrush, I was able to clear all the gunk. They worked fine. It was dirty and filthy,” Fox said.
He decided to donate the clock back to the airport in 2005 after seeing a news story about Lunken’s original oil-on-canvas murals being restored and returned to the terminal.
“To me it was important that the clock be placed back in its location. It operated. The only thing they needed to reproduce was a dress ring that would have locked it in place,” Fox said. “It broke my heart in a sense because I loved the clock … but I was very excited."
Looking at photos from that day in 2005, Fox remembered his pride when they lifted the restored Gruen clock into its original spot and removed the smaller Bulova clock that had been a placeholder.
“I was just beaming with joy. Everything I had worked for had succeeded,” Fox said.
Twenty years later, Fox was riding on the Lunken Bike Trail a few months ago and decided to check on his beloved clock. He peered into the terminal window.
“I noticed that the clock was gone and the Bulova clock that had hung there all those years was back in place, and it upset me greatly,” Fox said.
Fox worried that someone had taken it.
“They would only have to call me; I gave them my information. Maybe the transformer burned up, maybe it was having trouble keeping time; all of those things are restorable,” Fox said. “But I never received a call; the clock just simply disappeared."
“It just started eating at me … That’s why I contacted you,” Fox said.
‘Gruen watch time’ meant something
The I-Team asked the airport about the missing clock.
“The clock stopped working, and attempts to have it repaired were unsuccessful. It is currently in storage here at Lunken,” wrote administrative technician Elaine Luchi in an Oct. 3 email.
The Lunken terminal closed three years ago to prepare for a major renovation. The city signed a development agreement in December 2022 with the vR Group and Guy van Rooyen, of the Hotel Covington project.
Original plans were for 71,500 square feet of development with a significant three-story addition on the south side of the terminal building with 55 hotel rooms, a large restaurant and bar, and event space.
But the Federal Aviation Administration denied the plan, so the project had to be redesigned.
“This resulted in a lower number of hotel rooms, which made the project financing tighter. This has subsequently led to a longer timeline, and the city’s additional financial investment into the project,” a city spokesperson wrote in an email response to the I-Team’s questions.
The city now plans to provide a direct cash incentive of $2 million to the terminal project, which will now have a reduced 30 hotel rooms.
The city expects to finalize an amended deal and lease agreements with van Rooyen in the coming weeks. Construction must begin before Jan. 15, 2026, and is expected to take two years.
A spokesperson for the Salyers Group, where van Rooyen is president and CEO, declined to comment.
“We’re excited about the progress being made — everything is moving forward positively — but we’re not quite ready to share more details just yet,” wrote senior marketing manager Stephen Drake in an email to WCPO.
Still, there is uncertainty about the future of the Gruen clock.
A city spokesperson confirmed that the clock was in storage. But its lease gives the developer the rights to the Lunken terminal property, building, furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
“It allows and encourages the developer to incorporate any and all historical elements into the redevelopment plan, if feasible. If the developer determines the clock cannot be included, then the city will collect the asset and decide what to do with it. All expectations are that the historic clock will be incorporated into the redevelopment,” a city spokesperson wrote in an email to WCPO.
Fox remains optimistic.
“When you walked in that lobby and you saw that clock encased in nickel wings, that meant something. I’d like to see all that back,” Fox said. “I think the developers that are doing this, if they have any character at all, if they have any honesty, they would like to see that restored too, I believe.”
And if the developer or Cincinnati officials don’t want the clock anymore?
“Quite honestly, if they don’t want that clock, send it back to me,” Fox said. “I will love it and take care of it, and it will be handed over to somebody in a museum someday.”
