Delacorte Clock

The Delacorte Clock, located outside the gates of the Central Park Zoo, was given to New York City by George T. Delacorte in 1965.

George T. Delacorte has given many gifts to the city including the Alice in Wonderland statue (1959) and the Delacorte Theater (1962) in Central Park as well as fountains in Bowling Green Park (1977) and Columbus Circle (1965).

Every day between eight in the morning and six in the evening, the clock, now digitally programmed, plays one of thirty-two nursery rhyme tunes on the hour while the animals rotate on a track around the clock. On the half-hour, the mechanical performance is a bit shorter.

The musical repertoire of the clock includes:

Frère Jacque, Au Clair de la Lune, Hickory, Dickory Dock , Ding Dong Dell , Old King Cole, I Had a Little Nut Tree, Hey Diddle Diddle , Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Georgie Porgie, My Bonnie, Little Jack Horner, The Merry Farmer (Schumann), Mary Had a Little Lamb, Cradle Song (Brahms), Three Blind Mice, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Anvil Chorus, Sing a Song of Sixpence, There’s Music in the Air, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep , A Tisket, a Tasket, The Farmer in the Dell, Row, Row Your Boat and Sailing, Sailing.

During the holidays the clock plays favorites such as Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and Joy to the World.