First ‘Mantel for the Season’ focuses on restaurants

xxxx xxxxx | David Fortier

Posted By: Staff December 9, 2023

The American Clock & Watch Museum will be featuring its sixth annual “Mantels for the Season” exhibit through Dec. 30. This year’s exhibit highlights businesses and organizations in the recently established cultural district.

The Bristol Edition will be highlighting each of the six mantels on display through the month. The first mantel is the one from restaurants in the district, entitled “District Delectables.” Each restaurant provided items for the museum staff, which either assisted with or designed the final product.

The cultural district in Bristol includes, roughly, the area from Maple Street, where the American Clock and Watch Museum is located, south to Memorial Boulevard, west to Church Street, where the Imagination Museum is located, and west to the entrance of the boulevard.

The Federal Hill Green and Brackett Park as well as the Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School and The Rockwell Theater are within its borders. For a more detailed description with a map, click here.

Clockwise from upper left, holiday cards hang from businesses within the cultural district hang along the mantel, the entire display with the rolling pin clock to the upper left, the name of the display, decorations by the fireplace and the clock in the shape of skillet. | David Fortier

Each mantel has at least one clock that matches the theme and the design. The restaurant themed mantel has over it two iconic clocks, one in the shape of a rolling pin and the other, a chef. Hanging in the fireplace is a clock in the shape of a skillet.

Each of the clocks in the mantel display is from the museum’s collection, according to the museum’s executive director Patti Philippon, who also provided the information during a tour of the mantels. The rolling pin clock was built by the New England Clock Company in the 1980s. The chef clock was built by Sessions and the skillet clock by Gilbert Clock.

The restaurants represented in the display are included because they fall within the boundaries of the cultural district. They are Riverside, Expresso Cafe, Monterrey, Main Street Pint & Plate, Bakery on Maple, LJ’s Pizza, People’s Choice Pizza and Ken’s Grille.

The American Clock and Watch Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed on holidays. There is an admission charge. For information, call (860)583-6070 or visit www.clockandwatchmuseum.org.

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