Talk:Tag:building=clock tower

Questioned use

@Santasa: Hi! I just explored your creation and description of building=clock_tower (and man_made=clock_tower). Are you aware of the established tagging with building=bell_tower and man_made=tower + tower:type=bell_tower? I think it is important to differentiate the tags and specify when to use which feature tag, e.g. in cases of towers with bells and clocks. --Chris2map (talk) 09:21, 17 August 2025 (UTC)

• Hi, strange that you ask since I really tried to offer a variety of examples. The difference is that not all bell towers are clock towers, and more importantly, not all clock towers are bell towers nor attached or in any way related to church buildings. An entire category of tower buildings are just towers erected to serve as a platform for a clock. This is particularly important characteristic with historic and heritage buildings of this kind all around the world where bell-towers or churches were not built.--Santasa (talk) 09:31, 17 August 2025 (UTC)
• In that case, we should clarify that editors should know what is the nature of a main building, if the tower is attached to a building of a church, for instance. If the tower is standalone (freestanding) then most likely it's not a bell tower or church, and so on.--Santasa (talk) 09:38, 17 August 2025 (UTC)

I was a bit hasty and don't really know much about the specific and historical variations. I wonder why there are so few clock towers in the OSM database. And I suspect many clock towers also have a chime. However, the clock is often the more visible feature. Therefore, I ask how to prevent ambiguous, duplicate, or parallel tagging of these towers. --Chris2map (talk) 09:54, 17 August 2025 (UTC)

Of course, I understand. I also should have included a note for the editors to have in mind (how) to differentiate between bell towers with clock and clock towers without bells, and all eventual variations. On the other hand, I have offered different examples per style, era, and nature of the building in the description sections below, but nevertheless, there should be a sentence or two to explain the difference for editors who may not be familiar with these nuances.--Santasa (talk) 10:16, 17 August 2025 (UTC)