The James D. Johnson Bells

*Location:

   The DeVos Memorial Bell Tower
   Central Presbyterian Church
   Park Avenue at East 64th Street
   New York, New York, USA
   LL: N 40.76580, W 73.96742

Site locator map

*Player:

   (unknown)

*Contact:

   Central Presbyterian Church
   593 Park Avenue
   New York, NY  10065
   T: (212)838-0808
   E: info/@/centralchurchnyc DOTorg

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   From 1927 to 1931, this tower held
   what was then the largest carillon in
   the world; its 53 bells were moved to
   Riverside Church as the core of the
   present carillon there.

*Technical data:

   Electric-keyboard carillon of 50 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is E  in the middle octave
   Transposition is unknown
   Keyboard range:     ----  /    ----  
   The arrangement of tones and semitones is unknown.
   The whole instrument was installed in 2020
     with bells made by Paccard     
   Auxiliary mechanisms: S3    
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2020

The home page of the church Website has a rotating series of photos, which include at least two that show the octagonal bell tower.  One of them is taken from a rooftop listening place.  Other photos of the building and tower may be found throughout the Website.  A history page includes several historic photos of the installation of the original G&J bells.

Video of the service of dedication (28:52); it opens with the bass bell swinging; photos & music of bells begin at 23:30, from adjacent rooftop terrace listening area.

A news release (1 Oct 2020) announced the upcoming dedication of these bells.

Press release article (1 Oct 2001, with photo of one bell

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 non-traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all North American non-traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American non-traditional carillons by year of completion.

Index to all tower bell instruments in NY.

   This page was built from the database on  9-Nov-20
   based on textual data last updated on 2020/10/24
   and on technical data last updated on 2020/10/23