BUFFALO - STP : USA - NY

*Location:

   St.Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
   (originally St.Paul's Episcopal Church)
   Pearl & Church Streets
   Buffalo, New York, USA
   LL: N 42.88274, W 78.87632

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*Player:

   (unknown)

*Contact:

   St.Paul's Cathedral
   128 Pearl Street
   Buffalo, NY  14202-4075
   T: (716)855-0900   F: (716)855-0910
   - or -
   Dr. Dale Adelmann, Organist/Choirmaster

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   Reports of the original chime being
   destroyed by fire are incorrect; the
   bells survived an explosion and fire
   that destroyed the body of the building
   in 1888, & were not rehung until 1926.
   The original bells were the only
   Meneely/Watervliet set ever hung for
   change-ringing.  After the first
   enlargement, the chiming mechanism was
   above the ringing room, so it must
   have been Ellacombe-style.  Electric
   keyboard by Verdin added in 1987
   without removing chimestand.

*Technical data:

   Electric-keyboard chime of 14 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is E  in the middle octave
   Transposition is unknown
   Keyboard range:     ----  /    ----  
   The arrangement of tones and semitones is unknown.
   The present keyboard was installed in 1987
     by the maker cited in Remarks above
   Prior history:
     In 1924, the instrument was enlarged to its present size
       with bells made by Meneely/Wvlt
     In 1857, the instrument was enlarged to 10 bells
       by Meneely/Wvlt
     In 1856, the instrument was begun with  9 bells
       by Meneely/Wvlt
   Year of latest technical information source is 2000

Additional information on the technical history of this instrument can be found in a database printout.

*Links:

The Cathedral's extensive Website includes an excellent History section with fine old photos and detailed floorplan.  Current (and color) photos of the building are scattered throughout the Website in unexpected places.  But there is no mention of the bells outside of the History.

A modern photo (259KB) by George Dawson.

A report of a visit and subsequent research by George Dawson.

Building photos from Emporis Buildings
(Also see our Emporis Advice.)

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Watervliet) bellfoundry.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Meneely (Watervliet) bellfoundry.
Where the final phase of 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.

Why the original installation at this site was a milestone in North American chime history (1856).
Ranking of the original bells among all North American rings by year of completion.

Index to all tower bell instruments in NY.

*Status:

   This page was built from the database on 26-Dec-11
   based on textual data last updated on 2007/08/01
   and on technical data last updated on 2010/09/08

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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