The historic 1897 Seth Thomas pendulum clock on UCSF's Millberry Union stands as a preserved campus landmark, connecting today's students to San Francisco's mechanical past.

At 500 Parnassus Ave, the large transparent clock on Millberry Union connects today's campus to San Francisco's mechanical past. The Seth Thomas pendulum clock, originally installed in 1897 on the Affiliated Colleges School of Medicine building, survived the 1906 earthquake and served the campus for 70 years before that building's demolition in 1967.

A preservation effort led by Dr. Alison Saunders, MD, and Dr. Meyer Schindler, MD '38, saved the clock mechanism and granite pillars. After a 14-year search for a new home, the clock was reinstalled on Millberry Union in 1982, with Chancellor Francis Sooy winding it during the Founders Day ceremony.

The clock's inscription tells its journey: "Carried by ship around Cape Horn, this Seth Thomas Clock was installed on the Medical School of the Affiliated Colleges in 1897. Surviving the 1906 earthquake, it served the University and community for 70 years."

Tower clocks like this one typically require designated staff to raise weights twice weekly and make pendulum speed adjustments by adding or removing small weights. Similar Seth Thomas installations at Stanford University involve regular maintenance by engineering staff or specialized contractors.

While UCSF's 2025 renovation project for Millberry Union common spaces doesn't specifically mention clock tower work in public bid documents, the timepiece remains a campus landmark, its transparent face still visible to anyone passing by the Parnassus Heights campus.