Dreger Clock

The Dreger Clock is an extraordinary piece of folk engineering — an 18-foot Black Forest-style clock tower built by Buena Park resident Albert Dreger between 1940 and 1947 entirely from scrap parts. It has more than 250 moving figures, three organs, and chimes that play complete melodies on the hour.

The clock was displayed for years at the Movieland Wax Museum and was at risk of being scrapped when that closed in 2005. It is now preserved at the Buena Park Historical Society's Bacon House Museum on Beach Boulevard, where it operates on demonstration days. Worth checking the museum's website before visiting; opening hours are limited.

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Albert Dreger built this 18-foot clock in his garage over six years in the 1940s, using parts salvaged from old organs, gramophones, and household machinery. When it strikes the hour, mechanical figures of the Twelve Apostles, William Tell, and a brass band emerge from doors and balconies. It is one of the largest privately built mechanical clocks ever made.

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