Cleveland Tower is a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

containing a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

on the campus of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. It was designed by Ralph Adams Cram and is one of the defining

Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...

architectural features of the university's Graduate College. The tower was built in 1913 as a memorial to former university trustee and

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. A bust of the former president is the centerpiece of the grand chamber at the tower's ground level.

Class of 1892 Bells

The tower's

is a gift of the class of 1892, which presented the

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

s as their 35th reunion dedication to the university in 1927. The English foundry

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...

cast the original 35 bells. A plaque near the tower's entrance reads:

''The Class of Eighteen Ninety Two presents the carillon in this tower to Princeton University with love and gratitude and the hope that its bells may ever inspire coming generations of Princeton men to maintain the traditions of their alma mater in the service of God and of their country''

Originally dedicated on June 17, 1927, the bells were rededicated after decades of varying use and maintenance on June 13, 1993. The Class of 1892 Bells are now one of the largest carillons in the world with 67 bells and a bourdon (G) weighing . The Chapel Music Program maintains the carillon program with assistance from an endowment by the class of 1892."Princeton University Carillon in Cleveland Tower"
Accessed July 28, 2007 The bells play Sunday afternoons by university

carillonneur A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

Lisa Lonie, and weekday evenings by students, except during exam periods. The summer programs include performances by international guests. A carillon practice room is also housed in the Graduate College basement. Lisa J. Lonie, University Carillonneur, is the only fourth carillonneur in the instrument's +80 year history and the first female to hold the position.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Carillons Towers completed in 1913 Princeton University buildings 1913 establishments in New Jersey

Class of 1892 Bells

See also

References

External links