<P> The National Debt Clock is a billboard - sized running total display which constantly updates to show the current United States gross national debt and each American family's share of the debt . It is currently installed on the western side of One Bryant Park, west of Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets in Manhattan, New York City . It was the first debt clock installed anywhere . </P> <P> The idea for the clock came from New York real estate developer Seymour Durst, who wanted to highlight the rising national debt . In 1989, he sponsored the installation of the first clock, which was originally placed on Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets, one block away from Times Square . In 2004, the original clock was dismantled and replaced by a newer clock near 44th Street and Sixth Avenue . In 2008, as the U.S. national debt exceeded $10 trillion for the first time, it was reported that the value of the debt may have exceeded the number of digits in the clock . The lit dollar - sign in the clock's leftmost digit position was later changed to the "1" digit to represent the ten - trillionth place . In 2017, the clock was moved again to One Bryant Park, near its original location . </P> <P> New York real estate developer Seymour Durst, who invented and sponsored the clock, stated that it represents a non-partisan effort and explained the motivation behind the project in terms of intergenerational equity: "We're a family business . We think generationally, and we don't want to see the next generation crippled by this burden ." </P> <P> According to Seymour's son Douglas, his father had been toying with the basic idea of drawing attention to the growing national debt since at least 1980, when during the holiday season he sent cards that said "Happy New Year . Your share of the national debt is $35,000" to senators and congressmen . In the early 1980s, when Seymour first developed the idea of a constantly updated clock, the technology required to implement the project was not yet available . Back then, the debt was quickly approaching $1 trillion . </P>

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