SINGING TOWER
Looking up at
the 205-foot Gothic and art deco Carillon Tower is an experience
like no other. Designed by famed architect Milton B. Medary and
ornately crafted by noted stone sculptor Lee Lawrie, the Tower
houses one of the world’s finest carillons. Concerts from
the 60-bell carillon fill the Sanctuary daily.
Because
the primary purpose of the Tower is to house the carillon, it
is not open to the public. So what's behind the brass door?
- On the first floor is the Founder's Room, created as a private study for Edward Bok.
- Level two and level three contains mechanical equipment.
- The curator's workshop is on level four.
- The Anton Brees Carillon Library, located on level five, is the largest carillon library in the world. Between level five and six is a practice keyboard.
- The carillonneur's studio is on level six.
- The Carillon fills the upper third of the Tower on level seven.
Directly below the bells, inside the bell chamber is a playing room, housing the clavier or keyboard. There are 211 stairs going from the Founder's Room to the bell chamber, and an elevator to level 6.
Bok,
Medary and Lawrie made it a goal to create perfect unity and
symbolism in the design of the Tower. The scheme for the sculptures
and grille work is mostly birds and plants with a few other
forms of wildlife depicted. Besides various flowers and trees,
you can find cranes, herons, eagles, seahorses, jellyfish,
fin fish, pelicans, flamingos, geese, swans, fox, storks, tortoise,
hare, baboons, Adam and Eve, and the serpent.
The colorful tiles found only in the top third of the Tower depict the perfect balance in nature, species and gender and were designed by H. Dulles Allen.
The
brass doorway and wrought iron gates on the north side of the
Tower were the masterpiece of Samuel Yellin, America's premier
metalworker. The great door depicts the Book of Genesis, starting
with the creation of light and ending with Adam and Eve being
ousted from the Garden of Eden. The iron gates leading to the
Tower were hand-wrought and showcase birds with various expressions
and wings for flight.
The
sundial on the south side of the Tower was set in place on
October 26, 1928. The gnomon, which indicates time by casting
a shadow on the dial face, is made with a bronze rod supported
by a bronze snake - the ancient symbol of time. The hours are
marked by the twelve signs of the zodiac. A correction table
for different periods of the year is located at the base of
the sundial.
Edward Bok's Singing Tower was sited at the highest elevation south of the reflection pool, so the water reflects its full image.
