The Centralia Carillon

*Location:

   The Centralia Carillon Tower
   Tower Park
   between N Elm & N Poplar Streets, and
   between E Noleman Street & E Broadway
   Centralia, Illinois, USA
   LL: N 38.52787, W 89.13168

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   (Position vacant; applications wanted)

*Previous carillonists:

   1983-84 Michael R. Hall   (C)
   1984-89 Charles Collins   (C)
   1989-97 Michael R. Hall   (C)
   1997-2015 Carlo J. van Ulft   (A)
   2016-24 Roy Kroezen   (A;d.2024)

*Contact:

   Administrator
   The Centralia Carillon
   *parcel:
     114 North Elm Street
     Centralia, IL  62801
   *postal:
     P.O. Box 1
     Centralia, IL  62801-0001
   T: 618-533-4381
   E: CentraliaCarillon@att.net
   - or -
   Thomas Joy, President
   E: tjoy/@/charter DOTnet

*Schedule:

   Silent during renovation; normally
   Wednesday at noon, Thursday at 7pm,
   Friday at noon 7 pm.  Tours of the
   carillon are available on request,
   but advance reservations are required.

*Remarks:

   Quarter-hour chime tunes are varied.
   New playing keyboard by Verdin, 1997.
   New transmission by Meeks & Watson
   in 2001.
   Practice keyboard, by Meeks & Watson,
   is in office at 104 North Elm.
   2023-24: Renovation in progress by M&W,
   & new keyboard to R.Strauss design.
   2026: Revisions to action by T.Verdin
   Legacy Bellworks

   g0, 79.5in, 11000lb, 1983, Paccard

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 65 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is G  in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     G C   /    G C 29
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There is one missing bass semitone
   The presence or absence of a practice console is unknown
   The present keyboard was installed in 2024
     by Meeks,Watson     
   Prior history:
     In 1997, the keyboard was replaced
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
     In 1983, the complete instrument of 65 bells was installed
       with bells made by Paccard         
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q3H   
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2024

The Website for the Centralia Carillon has a tower picture and lots of detailed information.

The Paccard project page about this carillon includes a video (4:55) with Roy Kroezen at the practice keyboard and the playing keyboard; English narration.

A news article (29 Aug 2024) on demolition of a building acquired by the Centralia Foundation recently also reports that landscaping overhaul of the rest of the park around the tower was done this past spring.  The Foundation now owns all but two buildings in the city block around the tower. Waymarking page, with 5 photos

Where this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by weight.
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American concert class carillons by year of completion.

Other grand carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

The bass bell of this carillon is among all great bells in North America.

Index to all traditional carillons in IL.

Index to all tower bell instruments in IL.

   This page was built from the database on 27-May-26
   based on textual data last updated on 2026/05/20
   and on technical data last updated on 2004/09/27