Temporary, relocated or defunct
North American tower bell instruments
Some carillons and chimes in North America were installed temporarily in
expositions or fairs of various kinds.
Many of these were later reinstalled elsewhere.
Other carillons were relocated from their original places of installation for
various reasons.
And some have been destroyed or stolen, and were not replaced.
There are no site data pages for such sites, so they cannot be indexed in
the same manner as extant instruments.
Hence this page.
The lists below present, in appropriate orders,
the original locations of such instruments.
- Expositions
- Carillons (traditional or otherwise)
- Chimes, rings, etc.
- Relocations
- Carillons (traditional or otherwise)
- Chimes, rings, etc.
- Defunct
- Carillons (traditional or otherwise)
- Chimes, rings, etc.
NOTE: Tower bell instruments which have been down-sized
(e.g., from carillon to chime)
or downgraded (from traditional to non-traditional action),
but which remain in their original locations, are not listed here.
They can be found on a page about
degraded instruments.
EXPOSITIONS:
Carillons known to have been part of various North American exhibitions
or expositions,
or to have come to North America after being in expositions elsewhere,
are listed in approximately chronological order, with links to their
current locations when known:
- 1867
- Exposition Universelle, Paris, France
- The carillon built by Bollée of LeMans for
St.Joseph's Cathedral, Buffalo, NY (see below)
was exhibited here before export to the USA.
- 1924
- British Empire Exhibition, Wembley, England
- The traditional carillon built by Gillett & Johnston for
Simcoe, ON was exhibited here
before export to Canada.
- 1933-34
- World's Fair, Chicago, IL
- A Michiels carillon which was displayed here became the foundation for
the present traditional carillon of
Norwich University, Northfield, VT.
- 1939-40
- World's Fair, New York, NY
- A Michiels carillon which was in the Belgian Pavilion is
now in Stanford University, near Palo Alto, CA.
- A vanBergen carillon which was in the Dutch Pavilion is
now in Greenwood, SC.
- A smaller vanBergen carillon, which was the "Garden Carillon"
in the Dutch Pavilion, is now in New Brunswick, NJ.
- 1939-41
- Golden Gate Exposition, San Francisco, CA
- A Gillett & Johnston carillon which hung in the Tower of the Sun is
now in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA
- 1950 (summer)
- U.S.International Trade Fair, Chicago, IL
- A 37-bell traditional carillon by
Petit & Fritsen was displayed
at this fair, and was played by several GCNA members.
(See news
clipping.
Later it was displayed at the "Foire Provinciale" (presumably a fair in the
province of Quebec) and was played by another GCNA member.
Before the end of the year, this carillon was reported to be in Quebec City,
but it is not there now, and its actual disposition is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
CHICAGO - TF50 : USA - IL
- 1951 (May 28 - June 8)
- Fourth Canadian International Trade Fair, Toronto, ON
- A 37-bell traditional carillon by Van Bergen was displayed here,
and later installed temporarily at Lander College, Greenwood, SC.
Financing for the hoped-for sale was not found, and the carillon was removed.
In spite of various rumors, its actual disposition is unknown,
and there is not yet an entry for it in the database.
- 1952 (Oct-Nov)
- International Trade Fair, Mexico City, Mexico
- A 35-bell traditional carillon by Van Bergen was displayed in the
Netherlands Pavilion of this fair prior to being installed at what was then
McMurry College in Abilene, Texas, USA, where it remains.
- 1958-59
- World's Fair, Brussels, Belgium
- A Petit & Fritsen carillon which hung in the Vatican Pavilion is
now in Wilmington College, Wilmington, OH
- 1964-65
- World's Fair, New York, NY
- A light 25-bell traditional carillon by
Eijsbouts
hung in a small tower in the Belgian Pavilion (pictured on an
Official Postcard by Dexter Press, West Nyack, NY).
The late James R. Lawson is known to have played this carillon on occasion.
All but one of its bells were stolen out of the frame during the night after the Fair closed,
presumably for their scrap metal value.
On a Website about that Fair there are two paragraphs of
history of this instrument
buried amongst that of the electronic devices which were being heavily publicized.
This site is identified in the database as
NEW YORK - WF64 : USA - NY
- 1967
- World's Fair, Montreal, QU
- The Eijsbouts foundry displayed a 28-bell carillon, the disposition of
which is unknown.
Chimes known to have been part of various North American exhibitions or expositions
are listed in approximately chronological order, with links to their
current locations when known:
- 1850
- Mechanics Fair, Boston, MA
- Henry N. Hooper
displayed an 11-bell chime at this fair, taking a silver medal for it
and claiming that this was the second American-made chime.
Its disposition is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
BOSTON - MF : USA - MA
- 1850?
- American Institute Fair, New York, NY
- A 9-bell chime by either Meneely of West Troy or Jones of Troy (reports conflict)
was displayed at this fair and won a gold medal,
being the first completely American-made chime.
(But see the entry immediately above for a competing claim.
Also, the date of 1853 for the Meneely claim does not agree
with the date of 1850 for the fair.)
This site is currently identified in the database as
NEW YORK - AIF : USA - NY
- 1850-51
- Mechanics Institute, Cincinnati, OH
- In mid-1850, over a period of several months,
George L. Hanks cast a heavy 11-bell chime
with the assistance of Francis Mayer, who later worked as a bellfounder in St.Louis, MO.
Hanks exhibited the bells at the Mechanics Institute, and
advertised them as a chime playable from a keyboard,
but no record has been found of their installation as a chime elsewhere.
Since each bell was individually mounted for swinging,
they were probably sold separately after being exhibited.
This site is identified in the database as
CINCINNATI - M : USA - OH
- 1871
- Cincinnati Exposition, Cincinnati, OH
- A 15-bell chime was exhibited here by
Vanduzen, with total weight of 7290 lbs.
Its disposition afterwards is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
CINCINNATI - E/1 : USA - OH
- 1872
- Cincinnati Exposition, Cincinnati, OH
- A 9-bell chime was exhibited here by
Vanduzen, with total weight of 5744 lbs.
Its disposition afterwards is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
CINCINNATI - E/2 : USA - OH
- 1876
- Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, PA
- A 13-bell McShane chime which was exhibited in the Machinery Hall is
now in Garden City, New York.
- 1884
- World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans, LA
- McShane reported making a 15-bell chime for exhibition here, and later reported making
a 10-bell chime for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception,
Saint John, New Brunswick.
But the Cathedral has documentation that its 10 bells were made for the Exposition.
The other five bells are presumed to have been dispersed.
- 1893
- World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, IL
- A 10-bell chime was exhibited by Vanduzen,
and may have been the first chime they ever made.
Both Nashua, NH
and Oakland, CA have claimed to have this chime now,
but additional research has shown that Nashua's claim is correct.
See the following paragraph for the actual origin of Oakland's bells.
- 1894, Jan-Jul
- California Midwinter International Exposition (Midwinter Fair), San Francisco, CA
- A 10-bell chime was installed by Vanduzen
in the southwest tower of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building.
Reportedly it was modelled on that which Vanduzen had made for the Chicago exposition (see above).
It was played two or three times each day by Professor W. H. Holt, organist of
St.John's Church, although at least once the breakage of transmission wires
prevented its being heard.
After the fair, the chime was bought by David Hewes, who intended to donate it
as part of a clock tower to be built at Stanford University as a memorial to his second wife,
who had been a sister of Mrs. Leland Stanford.
That clock tower was never built, possibly because agreement on its location
could not be reached.
It is believed that these bells were eventually purchased in 1902 for
Mills College, and were installed there in 1904.
- 1895
- Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta, GA
- A 13-bell chime in the key of D was exhibited by
Vanduzen.
Its disposition afterwards is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
ATLANTA - CSE : USA - GA
- 1905
- Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, Portland, OR
- An 11-bell chime was exhibited at this fair by
Vanduzen.
The disposition of the bells is not known, but it is suspected that
they might now be at Los Angeles, CA (Hollywood Park Cemetery)
or Scottdale, PA
or Quincy, IL.
This site is currently identified in the database as
PORTLAND - LC : USA - OR
RELOCATIONS:
Carillons which have been moved from their original city of installation to
another place are listed in order by city name, with links to their
current locations when known:
- Bloomington, IN
- The 61-bell Metz Carillon, installed in a freestanding concrete tower
on the fringe of the Indiana University campus in 1971, was relocated to a new tower
in the center of the campus in 2019, and in the process was enlarged to 65 bells.
- Boston, MA
- The bookstore of Whittemore Associates had a light 25-bell carillon
by Petit & Fritsen on its façade from 1951 until 1965, when the company
and the carillon moved to Needham Heights (see below).
- Dodge City, KS
- The bells of the little automatic carillon installed in the College
of St.Mary of the Plains in 1953 were sold to
North Hennepin Junior College, Minneapolis, MN in 1994.
- Kalamazoo, MI
- A 47-bell electric-action carillon was installed in the Episcopal Cathedral of
Christ the King in 1969; installation of a traditional keyboard was anticipated but
never occurred.
When the cathedral was deconsecrated and sold in 2007, the bells were sold separately.
Eventually they became a new traditional carillon at the
University of Washington in Seattle.
This site was formerly identified in the database as
KALAMAZOO - CCK : USA - MI
- Lawrence, MA
- First-Calvary Baptist Church was located here when they bought a
light carillon from Whittemore Associates in
Needham Heights (see below),
but they have since moved to North Andover, MA.
- John P. Hall Estate, Mechanicsburg, PA
- Mr. Hall at one time owned four carillons,
all made by Petit & Fritsen in 1980-82.
In 1992, they were all sold, as follows:
- The 4-octave tower carillon
was sold to Berea College, Berea, KY, where it eventually became part of the
present traditional carillon.
- The 3-octave traveling carillon was sold to an anonymous investor,
and is now based in Pennsylvania,
where it is part of the musical group "Cast in Bronze".
- The second 3-octave carillon, never installed, was sold to the
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (UPPR),
where it is played only automatically.
- The light 2-octave carillon was sold in three parts:
- The heaviest 11 bells went to
Belmont University, Nashville, TN, where they
were used to extend that instrument's treble range.
- The middle 7 bells went to the
Deeds Carillon, Dayton, OH, where they
were used to extend that instrument's treble range.
- The lightest 5 bells went to Berea College (see above), to increase
the range of that instrument.
- Ward-Belmont School, Nashville, TN
- A 23-bell carillon was installed at this school by Gillett & Johnston
in 1928. In 1952 this instrument was sold t
Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., Sellersville, PA,
where it remained until the demise of that company in 2012.
The bells have now been recycled into a mobile non-traditional carillon
owned by the Virginia Arts Festival.
Ward-Belmont School was eventually succeeded by Belmont College,
which acquired a new carillon in 1986,
and later became Belmont University.
- Needham Heights, MA
- When Whittemore Associates moved here in 1965, they brought with them
the light carillon which had been on the façade of their Boston
building since 1951 (see above).
Sometime in the 1970s (when?), the company sold the carillon
to First-Calvary Baptist Church, which was
at that time in Lawrence, MA (see above).
- Trinity Evangelical & Reformed Church, Philadelphia, PA
- This church moved to
Holland, PA in 1968 and brought its carillon along.
It is now Trinity Reformed Church, UCC.
- St.Barnabas Roman Catholic Church, Philadelphia, PA
- The 25-bell automatic carillon of this church was sold to Frank DellaPenna in 2009, and
the bells were incorporated into his new traveling carillon.
The original site was identified in the database as
PHILADELPHIA - STB : USA - PA
- St.Michael's & Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, PA
- Some of the bells of this two-octave carillon, cast in 1930 by
Franz Schilling Sons of Apolda, Germany, were lost before the church
closed about 1973.
The remaining bells are now part of the automatic carillon at
The Lutheran Home of Germantown.
- San Fernando and Santa Monica, CA
- The three octave traditional carillon of Saint Monica's RC Church in Santa Monica
was dismantled in 1971 because of fears for the tower's stability in earthquakes.
The bells were later transferred to Mission San Fernando,
where they were played only automatically.
In 2002 they were moved again, to the newly-built
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
- Sellersville, PA
- See Ward-Belmont School, Nashville, TN, above.
- West Potomac Park, Washington, DC
- The Netherlands Carillon was located in a temporary wooden tower
here from 1954 until it was installed in a permanent tower
in Arlington, VA in 1960.
- (mobile)
- The Pepsi Carillon, a traveling carillon built in 1967-70 with bells
by Petit & Fritsen, was disassembled in 1982.
The frame and keyboard went to the Hall Estate (see above), acquiring a new
set of bells to form a new instrument; the original bells went to the
Cathedral of the Assumption, Louisville, KY.
Chimes which have been moved from their original city of installation to
another place are listed in order by city name, with links to their
current locations when known:
- Curran Memorial, Baltimore, MD
- A 16-bell automatic chime was installed in 1979 by
P&F,
as part of the York Road Development Project.
Two lightning strikes silenced the mechanism, and it sat idle for several years.
In 2007, 12 of the 16 bells found a new home several blocks away.
The disposition of the other four is unknown.
- Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Bridgeport, CT
- The Jones foundry installed a light 10-bell chime here in 1860.
In 1953 the property was sold to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America;
the bells were removed, and were installed two years later at
St.Mark's Episcopal Chapel, Storrs, CT.
- St.Mary's Church, Buffalo, NY
- In 1882, McShane
installed a chime of unknown size here.
The exact name and location of this church are uncertain,
but it may have been St.Mary of Sorrows, also known as the
Church of the Seven Dolors, Genesee and Rich Streets; that is now the
M.L.King Urban Life Center.
In 1982, eight bells from that chime were
installed in a park in Warren, PA.
- Verdin Company, Cincinnati, OH
- The Verdin Company installed a lightweight automatic chime with 14 bells from
Petit & Fritsen
on the south wall of Pendleton House in 1992.
By 2001 this chime had been sold; the buyer is unknown.
(The bells were replaced with shells, which may deceive the eye of the casual passer-by.)
This site is currently identified in the database as
CINCINNATI - V : USA - OH
- Steeplechase Park, Coney Island, NY
- This amusement park
(which opened in 1897) contained a Chimes Tower holding 10 bells by
Meneely/Troy;
it was played hourly from a chimestand in a cabin far below the open belfry.
The bells survived a fire which destroyed most of the park in 1907,
and in 1909 they were transferred to
Our Lady of Solace Catholic Church, Brooklyn, NY (see below).
- River Ridge Farm, Franklin, PA
- An 11-bell chime was made by Meneely/Troy
in 1914 and installed in a freestanding tower on the estate of J.C.Sibley.
In 1948, the farm was sold to the White Fathers, who in 1967 sold the bells to the newly-built
Church of Our Lady of Anjou in Montreal, Canada.
- Trinity Temple United Methodist Church, Louisville, KY
- A 12-bell chime was made by Vanduzen
for Trinity Methodist Church, presumably for the building erected in 1900,
where it hung in an open belfry atop a large central cupola.
(1930 photo, 968KB),
(1940 postcard, 323KB)
In 1962, the church razed that building and constructed in its place
a high-rise apartment building,
with worship space at the ground level and the chime on the rooftop.
The bells were sold to Bob Brosamer In the summer of 2001,
when the church was closed and the building
(photo, 723KB)
which housed it was sold.
So far as is known, these bells have not yet been dispersed.
This site is currently identified in the database as
LOUISVILLE - TT : USA - KY
- St.James Episcopal Church, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
- A 9-bell chime was installed here by Jones
in 1871.
In 2015, after it was decided to close this church, the bells were sold to Verdin,
who installed them the following year at Lee University
in Cleveland, Tennessee.
This site is identified in the database as
MILWAUKEE - STJA : USA - WI
- St.George's Catholic Church (Lith.), Shenandoah, PA
- A 10-bell chime was installed here by McShane in 1907.
After many years of disuse, the bells were removed from the tower to diocesan storage
by 2010, and the building was demolished.
Eventually the bells were bought back by McShane/Baltimore, and promptly resold
(along with four new bells) to
St.John Vianney Catholic Church, Houston, Texas.
- Plymouth Congregational Church, Worcester, MA
- A 10-bell chime was installed here by
Meneely/Troy in 1881.
In 1936 this became Plymouth-Piedmont Congregational Church.
In 1941 that building was razed.
It is not known when the bells were sold nor where they were stored,
but in 1952 they were installed in
St.Ann's Catholic Church, Cleveland Heights, OH.
DEFUNCT:
Carillons which no longer exist are listed in order by city name:
- St.Joseph's Cathedral (RC), Buffalo, NY
- A carillon of 45 bells was purchased from
Bollée in 1870, and installed in the
recently-built south tower of St.Joseph's Catholic Cathedral.
But structural problems soon caused removal of most of its bells to storage.
When the "new" cathedral was built in 1912, 43 bells were installed
in one of the twin towers, though not all of them were connected to the keyboard.
Structural problems again caused removal to storage in 1922 (or 1927),
from which most were stolen in the course of the mid-to-late 20th century.
The largest of the survivors was eventually donated to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo,
and seven more bells were donated by someone else.
In 2020, these 8 bells were installed in a new tower there.
This site is identified in the database as
BUFFALO - SJC : USA - NY
- University Lutheran Church and Student Center, Champaign, IL
- A lightweight 25-bell traditional carillon by
Petit & Fritsen
was installed in 1953 in the triangular Trinity Tower.
In 2008, the pastor sold the bells to Chime Master, who dispersed some of them.
The bell frame, transmission and baton keyboard were junked.
- Cathedral and Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit, MI
- A 35-bell Petit & Fritsen
carillon was installed in 1951.
Some years later, after the church purchased an electronic imitation,
the bells were offered for sale by the manufacturer of that device.
The actual disposition of the bells is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
DETROIT - CBS : USA - MI
- Borough of Folcroft, PA
- A 25-bell Petit & Fritsen carillon,
probably lightweight and automatic, was installed in 1994.
In 2002, Verdin bought the bells back.
- vanBergen Bellfoundry, Greenwood, SC
- A 32-bell carillon was installed on the foundry
building in 1960.
By 1970, 18 bells had been sold as a chime to a church in
Lawrenceville, GA;
the rest are presumed to have been sold individually or in small groups.
This site is identified in the database as
GREENWOOD - VBF : USA - SC
- Atlantic United Methodist Church, North Quincy, MA
- Twelve of the bells of this little carillon were sold to
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT to expand
that traditional carillon.
- The disposition of the remaining 13 bells is unknown.
- Del Amo Fashion Center & Square, Torrance, CA
- A 31-bell non-traditional carillon installed by
Petit & Fritsen
in 1982 was removed by 2003.
The disposition of these bells is unknown.
- James F. Neumann residence, Yoakum, TX
- A very light 25-bell automatic carillon was installed in 2000 by
Meeks & Watson, using bells that had
been removed from Elsah, IL.
When the owner was forced to move elsewhere, about two years later,
he sold the bells and freestanding tower back to M&W.
Some of the larger bells were dispersed, while the remainder are in storage with the tower.
Chime-sized instruments and rings which no longer exist are listed in order by city name:
- (location unknown)
- Advertising material from the Blake
foundry claims that they cast the first American-made chime in 1825.
Given the known history of the foundry, it seems more
likely that this is a typographic error for 1852.
(But see Mechanics Fair, Boston, above.)
It has also been suggested that this was a recasting of a foreign-made ring or chime.
In any event, this chime has not been located and its disposition is unknown.
- Floating Palace circus showboat, Ohio River
- In 1856, a 14-bell chime from the
Buckeye Bell Foundry was located on the roof
of this, the first circus showboat ever built.
It was used to herald the approach of the boat until the invention of the steam calliope
led to its replacement.
The date of manufacture of this lightweight chime (total only 2850 lbs) is uncertain,
but it is known that this boat was built in Cincinnati in 1852 and operated initially
on the Ohio River.
It later operated on the Mississippi River and at ports along the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico.
This site is identified in the database as
OHIO RIVER : USA - OH
- Christ Church, Baldwinsville, NY
- A 9-bell chime by Jones was installed in 1870.
In the late 20th c., it was dismantled and the bells were given away singly to other churches.
- Christ Church (Episcopal), Baltimore, MD
- A ring of six bells was cast in 1804 by Thomas Mears of London (Whitechapel),
and was installed in the first Christ Church (at Baltimore and Front Streets) in 1805.
During the War of 1812, the bells were removed to be hidden from the British.
After the war, only three of them could be found; they were rehung in the same building.
Thus the six-bell ring lasted for less than ten years.
In 1835/6, Christ Church moved with its bells to its second building (location unknown).
In 1871, the congregation moved to its third building (the present location),
taking at least one of the Mears bells with them; possibly one was left behind
in the second building, which was then renamed Church of the Messiah.
In 1904, the Church of the Messiah was destroyed by fire, but some metal was recovered
from the bell which hung there at the time;
it is not clear whether this was one of the original Mears bells.
In 1908, Christ Church bought a
chime of 13 bells from the McShane Bell Foundry;
at that time at least one Mears bell was returned to the (now rebuilt) Church of the Messiah.
In 1920 the Messiah congregation moved to its present location on Harford Road, and
in 1922 McShane cast for them a new bell made from
(a) the metal of a Mears bell returned in 1908,
(b) another bell which had hung in St.Andrew's Chapel, Harford Road, Hamilton, and
(c) the bell metal recovered from the fire of 1904.
The inscription on that bell records part of the history given above.
It is not clear what happened to the other two Mears bells which had been recovered
after the War of 1812, though perhaps one passed through the 1904 fire.
This ring does not have a separate entry in the database, since it had fewer than 8 bells;
the later chime does (see above).
- Martin Luther Ev.Lutheran Church, Baltimore, MD
- An 11-bell chime installed by McShane
in 1925 was sold back to the maker when the church was closed in 1996.
The McShane 'Chimes' catalog of 1928 included a
page
which depicts the building and describes the bells (all with inscriptions listed).
Without evidence of relocation, the bells are assumed to have been dispersed.
This site is identified in the database as
BALTIMORE - ML : USA - MD
- Grace Episcopal Church, Bath, ME
- Six bells were installed by
Meneely/West Troy in 1856.
Later in the 19th c., five more were added, yielding an 11-bell chime.
In the 1960s the tower was condemned and most of the bells were sold.
Four remain on an open frame, striking the quarter hours.
- Ivie Memorial Chapel of the Messiah, Bethlehem, NH
- In 1930, Meneely/Troy installed 10 bells
in this memorial to 27-year-old Florence Abbott Ivie, daughter of Alvine Ivie.
Its early usage is unknown, but by the late 20th century the building had no regular
congregation, and Episcopal services were held there only in the summer.
It was closed in 2007, and the bells were bought by
Chime Master Systems.
Although they were offered for sale as a set, no buyer was found, and the bells
were eventually sold off individually - the last in late 2011.
- First Congregational Church, Braintree, MA
- Meneely/Troy installed 10 bells in 1925.
In 1996, the church tower was taken down and the bells were sold.
Their destination is unknown.
- Trinity Church (Anglican), Brockville, ON
- In 1925, Taylor installed here a
baton-keyboard chime of 11 bells.
About 2006, the church was declared redundant; by 2009 the property (including the bells)
had been put up for sale.
While the building was vacant, some bells were stolen,
and some that were too large to steal whole were cut up on the tower.
Seven surviving bells were eventually acquired by The Keltek Trust of England,
from which they have been dispersed as parts of various projects to upgrade or install
rings of bells around the world.
Two bells will become the 6th and 7th of the restored and expanded ring at St Brynach,
Nevern, Dyfed, Wales.
See the Keltek Trust Website for further details.
- Our Lady of Solace Catholic Church, Brooklyn, NY
- In 1909, Meneely/Troy installed here
the 10 bells which had previously been in
Steeplechase Park, Coney Island (see above);
they were sold to Verdin in the mid-1990s.
Without evidence of relocation, the bells are assumed to have been dispersed.
This site is identified in the database as
BROOKLYN - OLS : USA - NY
- St.Philip's Episcopal Church, Charleston, SC
- Francis Mayer cast 11 bells in 1848, using the foundry of Mr.Dyer of Philadelphia;
the bells were installed here in 1849-50, along with a tune-playing tower clock,
by Francis Stein of this city.
They were seized by the Confederate Army in 1862 to be recast into cannon.
This site is identified in the database as
CHARLESTON - STPH : USA - SC
- The First Church
in Charlestown (UCC), Charlestown (Boston), MA
- The foundry of Henry N. Hooper & Co.
of Boston made a chime of 16 bells for this church in 1868;
they were given by the granddaughter of one of the settlers who founded Charlestown.
The chime was destroyed by fire in either 1934 or 1957, depending on how you read a
history of
the various "First Church" parishes in this town or an independent
history of this church.
- St.Paul's Episcopal Church, Elkins Park, Cheltenham Township, MD
- A 10-bell chime was installed by McShane
in 1883.
In 1900, the town of Elkins Park was formed from Cheltenham Township;
the church is within its boundaries.
The chime was sold in the 1960s; the buyer is unknown.
- Michigan Avenue Baptist Church, Chicago, IL
- A 17-bell chime by Jones was installed in 1870
in a tall-spired tower on the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and 23rd Street.
Between 1880 and 1883 the church changed its named to Immanuel Baptist;
it continued to exist at least into the 1920s.
When it closed has not yet been discovered, but the building no longer exists.
The fate of the chime is unknown,
but it can reasonably be assumed to have been scrapped.
This site is currently identified in the database as
CHIGAGO - MA : USA - IL
- U.S. Playing Card Company, Cincinnati, OH
- Meneely/Troy installed 12 bells in 1924,
and bought them back some years later.
Without evidence of relocation, the bells are assumed to have been dispersed.
This site is identified in the database as
CINCINNATI - U : USA - OH
- Methodist Episcopal Church, Clinton, IA
- Vanduzen was reported, by a usually
reliable source, to have cast 9 bells for the M.E.Church of Clinton, IN;
but the associated Zipcode was for Clinton, IL.
Visits to the Methodist churches of Clinton, IN, and Clinton, IL, proved that neither
of those buildings could ever have held such a chime.
Discovery of a Vanduzen catalog from 1922 revealed that the destination had actually been
Clinton, IA, and the total weight of the bells was 6067 lbs., but no date was given.
The First Methodist Church of Clinton, IA, erected its present building in 1903, and
originally it had a round corner tower with belfry that might have held these bells.
(Or it might have held only the single bell which the church had in its previous building.)
The belfry was removed from that tower in the 1920s because of continued problems with
leakage, and present church members have no knowledge of what it might have held.
The bells are presumed to have been scrapped.
- Trinity Episcopal Church, Cleveland, OH
- Meneely/Watervliet cast 9 bells
for this church in 1854, possibly the first chime made by that foundry.
When the church was replaced by the new Trinity Cathedral c.1901-07, only one of the old bells was
installed in the new tower; it is still rung by rope.
It is thought that the remaining bells of the chime may have been
dispersed to mission churches.
This site is identified in the database as
CLEVELAND - T : USA - OH
- St.Bernard's Church, Cohoes, NY
- A 9-bell chime by Jones was installed in 1871.
The spire of the 200' tower fell in a severe storm on 15 Feb. 1876,
damaging the roof of the church and blocking adjacent railroad tracks.
However, at least some of the bells survived and were disposed of singly to
churches at unknown locations in South Carolina.
This site is currently identified in the database as
COHOES - STB : USA - NY
- Bell Wagon Cafe, Coinjock, NC
- A collection of 11 assorted steel bells (origin unknown) sat in an old
farm wagon outside this cafe for years.
After the cafe closed in 1996, the bell wagon was traded back to the antiques dealer
from which it had been obtained, and sat in front of his shop until he died,
a decade or so later.
It is not known what happened to the bells in the estate sale that followed.
- Trinity Lutheran Church, Connellsville, PA
- Meneely/Watervliet made a 12-bell
chime (in concert pitch) for this church in 1911.
Some time between 1946 and 1957,
it was replaced by an electronic device; the fate of the bells is not known.
- Calvary Episcopal Church, Conshohocken, PA
- A 14-bell chime by Meneely/Watervliet was
installed here in 1929, and two Paccard bells were added to it in 1945.
In 2021, the church sold the bells to McShane, who will disperse them.
- St.George's Episcopal Church, Dorchester, SC
- A bell from Rudhall of England was installed in 1751; later this was
augmented to a ring of 4.
Some years after the Revolutionary War,
the church was disbanded and the bells were dispersed to other churches in South Carolina.
This site is not in the database, since it had fewer than 8 bells.
- First United Methodist Church, Duluth, MN
- Meneely/Troy made a 10-bell
chime for this church in 1921.
When the church moved out of downtown in the 1960s,
the bells were sold, but the purchaser is not known.
- First Presbyterian Church, Dunkirk, NY
- An 11-bell chime by Meneely/Troy was
installed in 1902, incorporating a bell which had been delivered in 1882.
Weakness of the tower led to its being shortened in 1961;
the bells were sold, but the purchaser is not known.
- Trinity Church, Edgerton, OH
- Meneely/Watervliet reportedly made a 9-bell
chime for this place, but details of date and weight were not given.
A search of the town in 2009 found no trace of the chime
nor of any building which might have held it.
Thus the accuracy of the original report is now questionable.
- Catholic Trinity Church, Evansville, IN
- A 9-bell chime by Jones was installed in 1873,
and destroyed by fire in the 1950s.
This site is identified in the database as
EVANSVILLE - CT : USA - IN
- City Hall, Fall River, MA
- An 11-bell chime by McShane was
installed in this city in 1908; the location is uncertain.
Three of these bells were re-installed with an hour bell (from a separate source?)
in a free-standing clock tower near the City Hall in 1981, and rededicated in 1992;
a waymarking page
has a photo of the clock tower and the original donor plaque.
The other 8 bells are reported to be in storage.
This site is identified in the database as
FALL RIVER - CH : USA - MA
- Notre Dame Catholic Church, Fall River, MA
- A chime of 15 bells was destroyed by fire in the early 1980s.
The bells had been obtained from France in 1924, and are thought to
have been by Cornille-Havard.
Some of them swung.
This site is identified in the database as
FALL RIVER - ND : USA - MA
- Pratt Mausoleum, Glen Cove, NY
- A 9-bell chime by Meneely/Troy was
installed in 1893; the bells apparently disappeared during World War II.
- Furman University, Greenville, SC
- A chime of 10 bells, installed by
Meneely/Watervliet in 1901,
was located in a campanile attached to Main Hall
on the old university campus in downtown Greenville.
After the University moved to its present site,
the campanile was demolished (with the rest of the old campus);
the disposition of the bells is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
GREENVILLE - FU/1 : USA - SC
The tower which now houses the carillon at
GREENVILLE - FU/2 : USA - SC
was designed to be essentially identical to the old chime tower.
- Trinity Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, MD
- A chime of 9 or 10 bells, installed by Jones
in 1870 or 1871, was traded in on a 16-tube Deagan tower chime in 1924;
the final disposition of those bells is unknown, but the Deagan chime survives.
- St.Mary's Catholic Church, Hollidaysburg, PA
- A 9-bell chime of unknown make and vintage
was sold to the Verdin Company, date and ultimate destination unknown.
- Orthodox Church, Honolulu, HI
- A 9-bell chime was shipped by Meneely/Troy
in 1887.
A note in the foundry records states that it was destroyed by fire.
No date is given, but it presumably was some time before the foundry closed in 1950.
Efforts to determine exactly where the church was located
and when it was destroyed have been unsuccessful.
This site is identified in the database as
HONOLULU - O : USA - HI
- St.Paul's Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, IN
- A 15-bell chime by Vanduzen
was installed in 1900.
When the church moved to the suburbs in 1995, the old building was demolished and the heaviest
14 bells were sold to Bob Brosamer.
The treble remains at the new church.
This site is identified in the database as
INDIANAPOLIS - STPL : USA - IN
- St.Paul's Catholic Church, Jersey City, NJ
- An 18-bell chime in concert pitch was supplied by
Henry Stuckstede in 1887.
The C,E,G basses swung.
The bells were bought by the I.T.Verdin Co. no later than mid-1994 and dispersed.
This site is identified in the database as
JERSEY CITY - STPU : USA - NJ
- St.Cecilia's Catholic Church, Kearny, NJ
- An 11-bell chime was installed by McShane
in 1928; it was sold in 1994.
The buyer (a company in Pennsylvania) is unknown.
- Christ Church (Episcopal), Little Rock, AR
- An 11-bell chime installed by Meneely/Watervliet
in 1903 was destroyed by fire in 1938.
This site is identified in the database as
LITTLE ROCK - CC : USA - AR
- Bible Institute, Los Angeles, CA (now
Biola University, La Mirada, CA)
- In October 1915, Meneely/Troy installed
an 11-bell chime atop the Bible Institute building in downtown Los Angeles.
Some time in the 1960s, it was taken down and put in storage.
In 1986, five of the bells were installed in an
open clock tower
on the new campus, with Westminster quarters struck electrically;
the university has a 33-minute video
of the dedication of the bell tower.
The disposition of the other 6 bells is unknown.
The bells are pictured on a
page about donating
to the university.
An interactive campus map
shows exactly where the bell tower is located.
A page about the
top 25
stories of the past 25 years
includes (at No.9) a paragraph about the bells and a small photo of the complete tower.
- First Presbyterian Church, Muncie, IN
- A 15-bell chime by McShane
was cast in 1925 and installed in 1926.
The McShane 'Chimes' catalog of 1928 included a
page
which depicts the building and describes the bells (with the inscription on the tenor).
The bells were sold or scrapped when the congregation moved to the present building in 1955.
This site is identified in the database as
MUNCIE - FP : USA - IN
- Home Suburban School, New Haven, CT
- A light-weight chime of 9 bells from Jones
was installed in 1860 for Rev. Alonzo G. Shears, who was rector of this school and
assistant at St.Thomas Episcopal Church from 1855 to 1874.
It is known that the school was located on Dixwell Avenue,
but no evidence of its later existence has been found,
so it is assumed that the chime was eventually scrapped.
This site is identified in the database as
NEW HAVEN - SH : USA - CT
- Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA
- A 13-bell electric-action chime from
Petit & Fritsen
was installed by Verdin in 1953 to replace a 16-note Deagan tubular chime from 1926.
The bells were later removed (though the frame remains on the ceiling of the belfry),
and the disposition of the bells is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
NEW ORLEANS - SHJ : USA - LA
- Holy Trinity Cathedral, New Westminster, BC
- A ring of 8 bells from Whitechapel
was installed in 1861.
All but the third (as counted by ringers) were destroyed by fire in 1898.
- St.John's Catholic Church, New York, NY
- A 10-bell chime was installed in this Bohemian Catholic church
by Meneely/Troy
in December, 1904.
On Dec.31 (New Year's Eve), Chester Meneely played a concert on these bells.
They were removed by the same firm in June, 1939, but their disposition is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
NEW YORK - STJN : USA - NY
- St.James Catholic Church, Newark, NJ
- A 9-bell chime of unknown origin and date is thought to have been in what was
the largest Newark church built prior to the Civil War (1854) and the tallest spire in the city.
(A local religion page
has an old picture of the building, but does not mention the bells.)
The building was sold and demolished in 1979, but the disposition of the bells is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
NEWARK - STJA : USA - NJ
- Niagara University (formerly DeVeaux School), Niagara Falls, NY
- A 10-bell chime installed by Meneely/Troy
in 1913 was sold to Verdin in November 1994.
Without evidence of relocation, the bells are assumed to have been dispersed.
This site is identified in the database as
NIAGARA FALLS - NU : USA - NY
- Bird Colladay Van Leer Memorial Tower, Normal, IL
- A 10-bell chime installed by Meneely/Troy
in 1940 was removed from the tower (now owned by the
Immanuel
Bible Foundation) about 1971 because its substructure was failing.
The bells were traded to Verdin for an electronic device,
which was thrice destroyed by lightning.
The original chimestand may remain in the tower.
- Cooper, Bailey & Co.'s Circus, Philadelphia, PA
- A light weight 16-bell chime was bought from
Vanduzen & Tift in 1880 for $600;
the purchase included "ringing levers, wire, etc.",
so obviously the bells were intended to play music.
The following year, this circus merged with P.T.Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth"
to become Barnum & Bailey, the most successful enterprise of its kind in the U.S.
Presumably the bells were eventually scrapped or sold.
This site is identified in the database as
PHILADELPHIA - C : USA - PA
- Ebenezer P. Percival, Philadelphia, PA
- A very lightweight octave of bells (bass bell 240 pounds) was ordered from
McShane in September 1887.
They were installed on his jewelry shop on North 8th Street, presumably with
an E.Howard tower clock (model #0 d S) which was ordered in the same year.
Bells and clock may have remained there for as long as he owned that building,
but their eventual disposition is unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
PHILADELPHIA - PJ : USA - PA
- St.Simeon's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA
- A heavy 14-bell chime installed by
Meneely/West Troy in 1903 was apparently
sold at some point during the decline of this congregation.
The building in which it was installed is still standing, but it was sold to a
different denomination in 2010, and the belfry is now empty.
(Bing maps
birds-eye
view from the north)
This site is identified in the database as
PHILADELPHIA - STSI : USA - PA
- St.Stephen's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA
- A 9-bell chime installed by Jones in 1853 was
traded in for an electronic device many years ago.
This site is identified in the database as
PHILADELPHIA - STST : USA - PA
- Highland Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA
- An 11-bell chime was installed by
McShane in 1920.
The McShane 'Chimes' catalog of 1928 included a
page
which depicts the building and describes the bells (all with inscriptions listed).
The chime was sold to Verdin in the early 1980s,
possibly when the congregation merged with another in the neighborhood.
The bells have been dispersed; it is uncertain whether the building still stands.
This site is identified in the database as
PITTSBURGH - H : USA - PA
- Pennsylvania State Fair, Pittsburgh, PA
- An 12-bell chime was cast by Andrew Fulton of this city
for display at the Pennsylvania State Fair of 1858, according to a
newspaper clipping of the day.
In the absence of any evidence of the chime being installed anywhere else after the fair,
the bells are assumed to have been dispersed.
So far as can be determined, this is the only chime that the Fulton foundry ever made.
This site is identified in the database as
PITTSBURGH - SF : USA - PA
- First Methodist Church, Plattsburgh, NY
- An 11-bell chime installed by Meneely/West Troy
in 1924 was destroyed by fire in 1957.
This site is identified in the database as
PLATTSBURGH - M : USA - NY
- St.Lawrence Congregational Church, Portland, ME
- An 11-bell chime was installed in the former Union Congregational Church
by McShane in 1896.
Previously there had been a 9-bell chime supplied by
Meneely/West Troy in 1856;
it is not known what happened to it nor why the replacement occurred.
The St.Lawrence congregation was dissolved in 1985, and ownership of the building was
transferred to a foundation (name not known).
The building having become decrepit, the McShane chime was removed and sold in 1998;
the purchaser and ultimate destination are unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
PORTLAND - STL : USA - ME
- Holy Communion Episcopal Church, Saint Louis, MO
- An 11-bell chime was installed by McShane in 1921
in the building previously occupied by this congregation in the city.
When the congregation moved to the suburbs before World War II, the bells were taken along.
But then they stood on the ground behind the present building because the tower base
was deemed to be too weak to hold them.
They were later sold; the buyer and date of sale are unknown.
This site is currently identified in the database as
SAINT LOUIS - HC : USA - MO
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- A 12-bell chime named the "Blethen Bells"
was installed by Meneely/Watervliet in 1912.
Located in a converted water tower,
it was played regularly until its destruction by fire in 1949.
A University Webpage
records the history and includes old photographs of the bells and tower.
This site is identified in the database as
SEATTLE - UW : USA - WA
- Grace Methodist Church, Sioux City, IA
- An 11-bell chime installed by Meneely/Watervliet
in 1908 was destroyed by fire in the mid-20th c.
This site is identified in the database as
SIOUX CITY - G : USA - IA
- Chime Master Systems, Inc., Sugar Grove, OH
- A lightweight chime of 18 bells by Eijsbouts
was installed here in 2006.
In 2008 it was dismantled, and the frame was sold; the disposition of the bells is
unknown.
This site is identified in the database as
SUGAR GROVE - 1 : USA - OH
- Winslow Congregational Church
(now Baptist Church of All Nations), Taunton, MA
- A 10-bell chime installed by Meneely/Troy in 1903
was removed in 1998, but the disposition is uncertain.
This site is identified in the database as
TAUNTON - W : USA - MA
- Trinity Episcopal Church, The Woodlands, TX
- A ring of 8 bells by Whitechapel (of unknown date),
which originally hung in the church of St.Michael & All Angels, Blackburn, Lancashire, England,
was installed here as a chime in 1984.
When the congregation moved to a larger facility in the same town,
the bells and pre-fabricated tower were taken along, but not re-erected.
In 2005, the tower was sold to another church and the bells were sold to Verdin,
who resold them piecemeal.
- Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, Washington, DC
- An 11-bell chime was installed by Jones in 1871.
At some point this was dismantled and put in storage.
Eventually the church decided not to build a new tower for the bells;
in 1998 they were sold to Verdin, who dispersed them.
This site is identified in the database as
WASHINGTON - MM : USA - DC
- Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, West Chester, PA
- A 10-bell chime installed by McShane
in 1890 was removed in the early 1980s when the tower was taken down
because of structural weakness.
The bells were dispersed, one remaining at the church.
NOTE: Defunct sites for which no database identification is listed are
the only ones in their respective cities in the database which supports this Website.
Thus their identification follows the standard model.
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This page was created on 1997/06/15 and last revised on 2024/08/07.
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