Naperville's Millennium Carillon ... unplugged
For more than a decade, Naperville's Millennium Carillon has towered over the city's skyline from the base of Rotary Hill along the downtown Riverwalk.
Built to celebrate the turn of the century, the 72-bell musical instrument is contained in the Moser Tower.
The carillon has been controversial almost since its creation, partially because of the eventual $5.8 million price tag and partially because of the tower's modern look.
Love it or hate it, though, the carillon has become a landmark and a symbol for the city.
Visitors have been able to tour the structure since the summer of 2007, but relatively few of us have been inside and even fewer are sure exactly how the instrument works.
Here are some tidbits about the carillon you can use to dazzle your friends:
Ÿ Its 72 bronze-cast bells make the Millennium Carillon one of only four grand carillons in the world. There are roughly 600 carillons in the world, each with between 23 and 72 bells.
Ÿ The largest bell, the Capt. Joseph Naper Bell, or “Big Joe,” weighs about 6 tons. It's named after one of Naperville's founders. The smallest bell weighs 10 pounds. The total weight of all the bells is 32.5 tons.
Ÿ The bells are played on a special keyboard, called a clavier, that's in the player's cabin 100 feet up inside Moser Tower. The bells also can be played by a computer-controlled system located in the player's cabin and accessible via a computer at the home of Chuck Seidel, one of the founders of the Naperville Millennium Carillon Foundation.
Ÿ The clavier, which was handcrafted in the Netherlands, is a console with 72 batons and 24 pedals, each mechanically linked to the clappers of the carillon bells. It's played like a piano, using your fists to hit the batons and feet to hit the pedals.
Ÿ Musical selections, often hand-picked by Seidel, are played automatically on the bells at noon, 4 and 7 p.m.
Ÿ Bells never go out of tune and have an expected lifetime of 2,000 years.
Ÿ All but one of the bells are dedicated to individuals, families or groups.
Ÿ Construction of Moser Tower in 2000 took 70 tons of structural steel, 185 pre-cast stone pieces and 14,000 work hours. The tower is dedicated to longtime developer Harold Moser, known as “Mr. Naperville,” who in 2006 was named the most influential person in the city's history.
Ÿ The four piers of the tower represent the core values of Naperville: Education, Community, Family and Commerce.
Ÿ From base to roof, Moser Tower is 16 stories high or 158 feet tall. That's 7 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. The carillon's observation deck is 135 feet up.
Ÿ Tim Sleep is the city's official carillonneur. He became a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America in 2004.
Ÿ Carillonneurs from around the world have performed on the Naperville instrument.
Ÿ If you'd like to see the carillon for yourself, it's open for tours on weekends through November. Tours run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 19; noon to 6 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 20; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, May 27 to Aug. 23. The cost is $3. Be aware, though, that the elevator only takes you 52 feet up and you'll have to climb another eight flights of stairs to the observation deck.
Ÿ For more details about the Millennium Carillon, visit naperville-carillon.org.