The time zone table in Gipuzkoa square

At Gipuzkoa square, near the Diputación, we can find the third thing given to the city in 1879 by José Otamendi, alongside the metereologic temple and the little cannon. We talk about the time zone table in Gipuzkoa square, this huge marmol slate indicates the difference in time between San Sebastian and several cities around the globe, as well as the distances and the different sunrise and sunset hours at different times of the year.

The city in the future

Something very interestings that Otamendi left in the plaque were his guesses on the future growth of the city, based on how it had been from 1860 to 1879. He thought that by 1912 the city would have 50.000 inhabitants, although by 1910 it was already around 49.008. He also thought that in 1926, it would be around 70.000, and that 18 years later, in 1942, it would reach 100.000. His calculations were pretty good, as we went over 100.000 inhabitants by 1940.

The board hasta really curious story, as the plaque is not the original. The one that Jose Otamendi gave to the city was made out of black marmol, but in 1930 his son, Joaquin Otamendi Machimbarrena placed the actual version: a white slate. This was because of a series of adjustments made to his father’s work, and it is the one in which the city’s town hall would place the original information during its restoration in 2015.