The Beckering Family Carillon Tower is a
carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
-clock tower located in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
, United States on the Pew Campus of
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...
. The tower and carillon was funded and built by Pioneer Construction in 2000. The Beckering family, for which the tower is named, established Pioneer Construction in 1933.
The 48 carillon bells are cast of bronze by the
Fonderie Paccard
Fonderie Paccard is a French foundry in Annecy. Founded in 1796, the foundry has cast more than 120,000 bells located throughout the world. The foundry has been continuously operated by seven generations of the Paccard family. The largest bell ca ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, who also installed them within the tower.
GVSU also has another carillon, the
Cook Carillon Tower
The Cook Carillon Tower is a 10-story-tall carillon-clock tower located in the center of the Grand Valley State University-Allendale campus in Allendale, Michigan. The tower and carillon were built in 1994 with help from generous donations by Pe ...
, located on the main Allendale campus in
Allendale, Michigan
Allendale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,579 at the 2010 census. It is located within Allendale Charter Township, occupying approximately the northern two-thirds of th ...
.
See also
*
List of carillons in the United States
Carillons, musical instruments of bells in the percussion family, are found throughout the United States. Several institutions register and count them. Some registries specialize in counting specific types of carillons. For example, the War Me ...
References
External links
Beckering Family Carillon Tower GVSU webpage
Towers completed in 2000
Grand Valley State University
Bell towers in the United States
Carillons
Clock towers in Michigan
Towers in Michigan
Buildings and structures in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Tourist attractions in Grand Rapids, Michigan
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