SCITUATE : USA - MA

*Location:

   The Lawson Tower
   (originally Observatory Tower,
     Dreamwold, Egypt)
   First Parish Road near Central Park Drive
   Scituate, Massachusetts, USA
   LL: N 42.20058, W 70.75525

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*Player:

   Lenae Badger
   43 Marion Road Ext.
   Scituate, MA  02066-2721
   H: (781)545-5840
   E: lenaebdgr@aol.com

*Contact:

   Scituate Historical Society
   *parcel:
     43 Cudworth Road
     Scituate, MA  02066
   *postal:
     PO Box 276
     Scituate, MA  02066-0276
   T: (781)545-1083
   E: director@scituatehistoricalsociety.org

*Schedule:

   Cambridge (Westminster) "quarters" at
   7am & 6pm only; simple hour strike the
   rest of the day.

*Remarks:

   Tower & belfry built to conceal a water
   tank for Dreamwold, the estate of
   Thomas W. Lawson, in the village of
   Egypt, now part of Scituate.
   Added semitone is flat 7th.
   Renovated by Verdin in 2006 (during
   major restoration which removed the
   long-disused water tank); keystroke
   now significantly shorter.  Tower open
   to the public several times a year,
   and by appointment.

*Technical data:

   Traditional chime (chimestand) of 10 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is D  in the middle octave
   Transposition is up  2 semitone(s)
   Keyboard range:     C D   /    NONE  
   There are two added semitones
   There is no practice console
   The whole instrument was installed in 1902
     with bells made by Meneely/Wvlt
   Year of latest technical information source is 1996

*Links:

The consulting firm involved with plans for restoration of the tower provides a photo, history and description, and structural drawings of the tower, bell frame, etc.

A photo page from a collection of water towers seems to suggest that the tower is made of stone (as the original German model was).  Actually it is of wood shingles and trim over a steel frame, independent of the 70-foot standpipe inside it.

A huge photo (208KB) by a genealogist shows the keyboard room (at left) and the stairway entrance (at right) at the base of the tower.

The Scituate Historical Society does not mention Lawson Tower, since the Society does not own it; they only maintain it for the Town of Scituate.

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 21-Sep-10
   based on textual data last updated on 2010/09/20
   and on technical data last updated on 2000/05/15

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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