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| University of Florida campus | |
 |
|
| Century Tower | |
| Use | Tower |
| Style | Memorial |
| Erected | 1953 |
| Location | Main campus |
| Architect | |
| Website | UF Carillon Home Page |
| Century Tower | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. Registered Historic District Contributing Property) |
|
 |
|
| Location: | Gainesville, Florida |
| Built/Founded: | 1953 |
| Architect: | Jefferson M. Hamilton1 |
| Architectural style(s): | Modified Collegiate Gothic |
| Governing body: | State of Florida |
The Century Tower is a 157 foot tall carillon tower in the center of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida.234
Built in 1953 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of UF's parent institution, Kingsbury Academy in Ocala, it also serves as a memorial for students killed in the world wars.23 It fulfilled the original campus design of the university's first architect, William Augustus Edwards, which called for a Gothic bell tower as the focal point.5 However, at the time of its completion, there was no money to buy bells for the carillon. An electronic bell system was given by J.E. Davis and A.D. Davis, two of the Davis Brothers who controlled Winn-Dixie. This was used until finally broke down in 1975. In 1976 $200,000 from accumulated student fees was used to buy the needed bells.2 A Dutch firm designed, fabricated and installed the carillon bells in 1979.6
In 2008 the Century Tower became a contributing property in the University of Florida Campus Historic District which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1989.78
About the carillon
- It has 51 bells and a range span of 5 octaves.
- The entire carillon weighs 57,760 pounds.
- The smallest bell in Century Tower plays a high C, weighs 26 pounds and has a diameter of 7-1/8 inches.
- The largest bell, called the Bourdon bell, plays a low A-sharp. It is five feet tall, weighs about 7,000 pounds and is five feet, nine inches in diameter.
- The carillon chimes each quarter of the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Students at the university can take a carillon class, where they are required to climb the 194 steps in Century Tower to play the bells for a grade.
- The carillon is played using 61 keys (or “batons”) for the hands and 25 pedals for the feet. The musician sits in a small room just below the bell chamber.
- There are fewer than 200 carillons in North America and only four in Florida.
References
- ^ A Guide to the University of Florida Architectural Drawings
- ^ a b c A Unique University - Century Tower
- ^ a b History of Century Tower
- ^ McCarthy, Kevin M., and Laurie, Murray D., Guide to the University of Florida and Gainesville, 1977, Sarasota: Pineapple Press, pp. 134-136
- ^ McCarthy, Kevin M., and Laurie, Murray D., Guide to the University of Florida and Gainesville, 1977, Sarasota: Pineapple Press, p 134-136
- ^ McCarthy, Kevin M., and Laurie, Murray D., Guide to the University of Florida and Gainesville, 1977, Sarasota: Pineapple Press, pp. 134-136
- ^ National Park Service Weekly Update on July 3, 2008
- ^ Gainesville Sun July 16, 2008
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 29 November 2008, at 08:21.
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