The Houston Watch Co. is located in the Southern Pacific Railroad Building (now the Bayou Lofts), designed in 1910 by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt.  In 1912, Houston jeweler V. A. Corrigan opened shop in the retail space adjacent to the building's lobby - where it remained open for more than 70 years. It is in this historic space, with many of the original 1912 details intact, where we serve drinks today.

The railroads are largely responsible for standardizing time across the United States.  Engineers, Conductors, Ticket Agents and safety switchmen all needed to be working on the same schedule, where a few minutes difference could (and did) lead to disaster.  The Houston Watch Company served as an unofficial quartermaster for railroad employees.  As the local Deputy Time Master, V. A. Corrigan also kept the Official local time - to which all local and railroad clocks needed to be synced.  

Oral histories of the space program claim that engineers at NASA, when evaluating watches to be used by astronauts, purchased some of their test timepieces downtown at the Houston Watch Company. 

The Watch Company was sold to a national chain in the 1950s.  At some point in the 70s, as downtown bunkered in, the original glass storefront was bricked over. But as late as the 90s, the machine that Houstonians called for the official Time and Temperature was housed in our walls.

In 1999 the Southern Pacific Railroad Building was renovated into the Bayou Lofts, and is now part of the Main Street Market Square Park Historic District.   In 1995, two downtowners opened up the present Houston Watch Co. as part of the new rebirth of Houston’s oldest neighborhood.

Please join us the next time you are downtown.  Keep a good watch out there.