The Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon is 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 ...

located in Washington Park in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

. The

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

tower stands 132 feet and is constructed from concrete, brick and steel. It was dedicated in 1962 and designed by Bill Turley. Each year the carillon hosts the International Carillon Festival which features world-renowned carillonneurs.

History

The Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon is the gift of Thomas Rees, a one-term Illinois senator elected in 1902, who also published the ''

Illinois State Register ''The State Journal-Register'' is the only local daily newspaper for Springfield, Illinois, and its surrounding area. History The newspaper was founded in 1831 as the ''Sangamo Journal'' by William Bailhache and Edward Baker, and describes it ...

'' from 1881 until his death in 1933. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Rees served on the International Board of Arbitration for newspapers and later for unions, which gave him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. Rees attributed his great interest in bells to visiting carillons in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His initial interest is claimed to be the result of articles he had read in

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

, among other publications. Rees provided $200,000 from a

trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property, or any transferable right, gives it to another to manage and use solely for the benefit of a designated person. In the English common law, the party who entrusts the property is k ...

to build the carillon and left very specific instructions in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

regarding the number of bells and the location of the carillon.Thomas Ress Memorial Carillon in Springfield
, (

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

), ''Prairie Fire'', episode #542, ''

WILL-TV WILL-TV (channel 12) is a PBS member television station licensed to Urbana, Illinois, United States, serving the Central Illinois region. Owned by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as part of Illinois Public Media, it is sister t ...

''; ''

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

'', May 8, 1997, retrieved January 22, 2012. The project was carried out by the Springfield Park District. The bells were cast by the Dutch bell foundry

Petit & Fritsen Royal Bellfounders Petit & Fritsen, located in Aarle-Rixtel, the Netherlands, is a former foundry, one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the Netherlands, with the foundry dating back to 1660. Petit & Fritsen was a foundry that cast Bell ( ...

and the tower to house them was constructed in Washington Park. The

campanile 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 ...

was dedicated in June 1962.Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon
, ''Springfield Illinois Convention & Visitor's Bureau'', official site, retrieved January 22, 2012. The carillon has been periodically closed and renovated throughout its lifetime. The system of transmission cables was overhauled twice: once in 1978 and again in 1987.History
, "Carillon" - ''Springfield Park District'', official site, retrieved January 22, 2012. The Rees Carillon was closed for a period in 1993 while it underwent a major structural renovation. In 2008 the Rees Carillon underwent renovation that replaced seven of the bells' clappers at a cost of $90,000.

Design

Carillon

The

features 67 bells that have a total weight of . The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

bells vary in size with the largest bell, the G-flat, weighing and the smallest bell weighing . The carillon originally featured 66 bells but a 67th bell,

B-flat B-flat or B may refer to: * B (musical note) * B major * B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel m ...

, was added in February 2000. The bells were cast by

Aarle-Rixtel Aarle-Rixtel is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch municipality of Laarbeek in North Brabant. It lies about 4 km north of Helmond. Since the municipal reorganization of 1968 the Croy Castle, castle Croy is part of Aarle-Rixtel. History A ...

from the

. The Rees Memorial Carillon is claimed to be one of the world's largest; the Springfield, Illinois Convention & Visitor's Bureau claims it is the 3rd largest, while the local public television affiliate simply asserted it as "one of the world's largest" in 1997. Additionally, author Don Davenport stated it was the world's 5th largest carillon in 2002. The Rees Carillon was also featured in a slideshow on ''

Midwest Living ''Midwest Living'' is a regional American magazine published by Dotdash Meredith focused on the American Midwest. Founded in 1986, the magazine publishes region-specific information and inspiration, focusing on travel and events, food and dining ...

's'' website where it was called "one of the world's largest carillons".Springfield, Illinois: Lincoln Country
, (

slideshow A slide show, or slideshow, is a presentation of a series of still images ( slides) on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals or they may be ...

), ''

'', retrieved January 22, 2011.

Tower

The carillon is housed in a free-standing

tall. It was designed by architect Bill Turley, who had several other Springfield commissions including the Hoogland Center for the Arts (standing as of 2022) and the former Springfield YMCA (demolished, 2021). Constructed out of concrete, brick, and steel, the tower is an excellent example of the

architectural style."", ''

Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...

'', retrieved January 22, 2012. It features three

observation decks An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated Tourism, sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclose ...

within an open interior.On the Cover
, ''Illinois Parks and Recreation'', 05, July/August 1984, retrieved January 22, 2012. The bells are hung dead across the height of the tower. They hang as low as and as high as . The tower stands in the park surrounded by gardens and a

reflecting pool A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water with a reflective surface, undisturbed by fountain jets. Design Reflecting pools are o ...

Festival and tours

The Rees Memorial Carillon hosts a week-long international carillon

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

each summer, typically held during the week that concludes with the first full weekend in June.International Carillon Festival
, ''Springfield Park District'', official site, retrieved January 22, 2012. The International Carillon Festival is typically held in June and features concerts during the evenings of festival week. World class carillonneurs come to the United States to play the International Carillon Festival. The 2011 festival was held from June 5–12 and was the festival's 50th anniversary. Though the carillon was dedicated in 1962, the first International Carillon Festival at Washington Park was in 1961. In the 2007 edition ''

Chase's Calendar of Events ''Chase's Calendar of Events'' is an annual American publication, started in 1957 by brothers William (Bill) D. Chase (a journalist and publisher from Michigan), and Harrison V. Chase (a university social scientist from Florida). It includes speci ...

'' called the Rees Memorial Carillon's International Carillon Festival "the world's best known carillon festival." Tours of the carillon are available during the spring and summer; The Springfield Park District's website includes tour and concerts times. Winter tours are available by appointment only. Entrance to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon requires paying a nominal fee. Visitors to the carillon can travel to the top by

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

where a scenic view of Springfield awaits.

References

External links

Official Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon website
* {{GNIS, 416500 Bell towers in the United States Brutalist architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures in Springfield, Illinois Carillons Modernist architecture in Illinois Tourist attractions in Springfield, Illinois Towers completed in 1962 Towers in Illinois