The Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon 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 ...

located in Washington Park in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. 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 Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

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 Thomas Rees may refer to: Religious figures * Thomas Rees (Congregational minister) (1815–1885), Welsh Congregationalist minister * (1869–1926), Welsh theologian and editor, principal of Bala-Bangor Independent College, see 1926 in Wales * Th ...

, a one-term Illinois senator elected in 1902, who also published the '' Illinois State Register'' from 1881 until his death in 1933. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. 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 a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

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

trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

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 electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

), ''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 to NPR m ...

''; ''

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

'', May 8, 1997, retrieved January 22, 2012. The project was carried out by the

Springfield Park District The Springfield Park District, established in 1900, is the public park authority serving the metropolitan area of Springfield in the U.S. state of Illinois. The Springfield park district, which is separate from the municipal government of the city ...

. 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 bells f ...

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 tower ...

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 metalloids such ...

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

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

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 dinin ...

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

slideshow A slide show (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 manu ...

), ''

'', 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 The Hoogland Center for the Arts is a theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience i ...

(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.Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon
, ''

Emporis Emporis GmbH was a real estate data mining company that was headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. On 12 Sept ...

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

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

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, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a reflective surface. Design Reflecting pools are ...

Festival and tours

The Rees Memorial Carillon hosts a week-long international carillon

festival A festival is an event ordinarily 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, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

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'' 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 or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

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