*Location:

   Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation
   Sixth Street and Cathedral Avenue
   Garden City,
     Long Island, New York, USA
   LL: N 40.72128, W 73.64204

   Machinery Hall
   Centennial Exposition
   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Site locator map

*Player:

   (unknown)

*Contact:

   Cathedral of the Incarnation
   50 Cathedral Avenue
   Garden City, NY  11530-4436
   T: 516-746-2955
   - or -
   Cathedral Music Office
   T: 516-248-5704
   E: music@incarnationgc.org

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   U.S. Winner (Gold Medal) at Centennial
   Exposition, and the first chime made
   by McShane; added semitones flat 7th
   & sharp 4th; original chimestand had
   two full rows of manual levers (for
   loud and soft) plus full row of pedals.

*Technical data:

   Electric-keyboard chime of 13 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is C  in the middle octave
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   Keyboard range:     C F   /    ----  
   There are two added semitones
   The whole instrument was installed in 1876
     with bells made by McShane     
   Auxiliary mechanisms: EnC   
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 1997

The cathedral Website has a small photo of the building in the left margin of the home page.  These once-famous bells are not mentioned anywhere now.  Formerly, there was also a Tour page with clickable versions of several more photos of the building.

Stereopticon photo of this chime on display at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876

A photo of the building and its spired tower accompanies the report of a visitor.

A news article on the renovation of the spire, including restoration of the bells, unfortunately gives no details.

Stereograph of Prof.Widdows at the chimestand of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876.  The two sets of levers operated two sets of clappers or hammers, one loud and one soft.
(Can you cross your eyes to see the image in three dimensions?)

Where this work lies in the sequence of output of the McShane bellfoundry.

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.

Why this chime was a milestone in North American chime history (1876).  Supposedly it was McShane's first; but Reading is dated 1875!

Index to all tower bell instruments in NY.

   This page was built from the database on 23-Mar-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2023/03/09
   and on technical data last updated on 2023/02/11