FALL RIVER - HS : USA - MA

*Location:

   B.M.C. Durfee High School  [new]
   Elsbree Street at School Brook Road
   Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
   LL: N 41.71668, W 71.12714
Site locator map  or  [ MapQuest map ]  or  Bing Maps
NOTE: The planned new bell tower does not yet appear in any overhead photography.
Also see our own Map Use Hints.

*Former Location (1886-1990): 

   B.M.C. Durfee High School  [old]
   between Rock and High Streets,
     Cherry and Locust Streets
   Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
   LL: N 41.70537, W 71.15181
Site locator map  or  [ MapQuest map ]  or  Bing Maps

*Player:

   (unknown)

*Contact:

   B.M.C. Durfee High School [new]
   360 Elsbree Street
   Fall River, MA  02720-7298
   T: (508)675-8100
   - or -
   Durfee Bells Preservation Society
   PO Box 9235
   Fall River, MA  02720-0004
   - or -
   Lester Cory, Chairman
   45 Summit Avenue
   Tiverton, RI  02878-4632
   H: (401)624-2378   W: (508)999-8482
   E: LCory@UmassD.edu

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   Old school closed in 1978, and was
   converted to a state courthouse in early
   1990s; bells removed during conversion.
   Smallest bell disappeared after
   removal.  Reinstallation in a new
   location is in progress.  Un-reused bells
   from FALL RIVER - CH (see 'Former
   chimes', below) are also stored here.
   Aug.2004: 9 bells retuned at Meeks,
   Watson & Co.; a replacement for the
   missing bell will be cast to a
   Meneely pattern.
   Apr.2008: Tower site chosen on grounds
   of [new] B.M.C.Durfee High School;
   tower design to be unveiled May 2008;
   will allow addition of 4 more bells.
   Spring 2010: Tower under construction
   on Elsbree Street, adjacent to ticket
   booth (for stadium?); will eventually
   (but not at first) contain chimestand
   at ground level.
   Nov.2010: Tower complete; bells to be
   reinstalled in Spring 2011.

*Technical data: 

   Chime-sized instrument (without any workable playing mechanism) of 10 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D# in the middle octave
   Transposition is unknown
   Keyboard range:     ----  /    ----  
   The arrangement of tones and semitones is unknown.
   The whole instrument was installed in 1886
     with bells made by Meneely/Wvlt
   Year of latest technical information source is 1992

*Links:

In a page about the school on the district Website, under Durfee News & Notes, there is a link to a PDF about the Durfee Bells Project.

On the Website of the Durfee Alumni, there are photos of the original building and its bell tower; "The Chimes" newsletter page links to the 2010 issue, which is a long PDF containing an article about the status of the project.

A news article about the history of the old Durfee HS and the plan to reinstall the bells.

The origin of the first B.M.C.Durfee High School building.

An old Visitor's Guide to Bristol County contains a more detailed description of the old building, and mentions the chime.

A Wikipedia article has two photos of the original building and its bell tower.

Where this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Watervliet) bellfoundry.

Ranking among all North American chimes by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American chimes by weight (pitch).
Ranking among all North American chimes by year of completion.

Index to all tower bell instruments in MA.

*Status: 

   This page was built from the database on 12-Jan-11
   based on textual data last updated on 2010/11/26
   and on technical data last updated on 2004/01/05

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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