*Location:

   4th Street Tower
   Minneapolis City Hall -
     Hennepin County Courthouse
   5th Street South at South 4th Avenue
   Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
   LL: N 44.97704, W 93.26569

Site locator map

*Player:

   Tony Hill
   H: 612-673-5311
   E: chair@towerbellfoundation.org
   - and -
   local volunteers

*Contact:

   Tower Bell Foundation
   Attn: Tony Hill
   B27 City Hall
   350 South 5th Street
   Minneapolis, MN  55415
   T: 612-673-5311   F: 612-465-2416

*Schedule:

   Friday noon, May-September; also many
   major and minor holidays, some at
   noon and some at other times.
   Cambridge (Westminster) quarters.

*Remarks:

   Original added semitone was flat 7th;
   sharp 4th added in 1924 expansion,
   and sharp octave in 1972 electrifica-
   tion.  Chimestand remains in playing
   cabin under the bell frame; 2-octave
   electric keyboard was originally on
   main stair landing in entrance lobby,
   but has been relocated to nearby guard
   station.

*Technical data:

   Electric-keyboard chime of 15 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is A# in the bass octave
   Transposition is down 2 semitone(s)
   Keyboard range:     C G   /    NONE  
   There are three added semitones
   The instrument was enlarged in 1972
     by Petit & Fritsen
   Prior history:
     In 1924, the instrument was enlarged to 14 bells
       by Meneely/Troy
       Keyboard range was:     C F   /    C F# 5
       There were two added semitones
     In 1896, the instrument was begun with 10 bells
       by Meneely/Troy
       There was one added semitone
   Auxiliary mechanisms: Q     
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2000

The Tower Bell Foundation has an extensive Webpage with pictures of the tower, bells and present electric keyboard.  There's also a page with transcriptions of newspaper articles dating from the original installation of the chime (1896).

A photograph from 1903

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Troy) bellfoundry.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Troy) bellfoundry.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Petit & Fritsen bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American chimes by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American chimes by weight (pitch).
Ranking among all North American chimes by year of completion.

Index to all tower bell instruments in MN.

   This page was built from the database on  4-Nov-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2013/06/25
   and on technical data last updated on 2013/06/25