NEW YORK - RC : USA - NY

   Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial
     Carillon

*Location:

   Riverside Church (interdenominational:
     ABC/UCC)
   Riverside Drive at 122nd Street
   Morningside Heights
   New York, New York, USA
   LL: N 40.81193, W 73.96327

Site locator map for present location or

*Original location (1925-1929):

   Park Avenue Baptist Church
   (now Central Presbyterian Church)
   Park Avenue at 64th Street
   LL: N 40.76580, W 73.96738

Site locator map for original location  or   or  Bing Maps
Also see our own Map Use Hints.

*Player:

   Dionisio A. Lind   (A)
   630 Ocean Avenue
   Brooklyn, NY  11226
   H: (718)282-5242   W: (212)870-6875
   F: (212)870-6848

   1927-60 Kamiel Lefévere (d.19??)
   1960-89 James R. Lawson (1919-2003)
   1990-98 Joseph Clair Davis   (A)

*Contact:

   The Riverside Church
   490 Riverside Drive
   New York, NY  10027-5788
   T: (212)222-5900

*Schedule:

   1030, 1230, 1500 (sometimes 1430) on
   Sunday; also special occasions.
   Parsifal quarters.

*Remarks:

   Largest carillon in the world from
   its original installation until 1960;
   still the heaviest; first installation
   here had electro-pneumatic assist
   (3 volume levels) on 6 largest bells.
   Out of action 2000-04 (except for the
   five swinging bells) during renovation
   by Tim Hurd; rededicated Sept.2004.
   See   BIRMINGHAM - FPC, USA - AL   for
   original keyboard from Park Avenue,
   though matching practice keyboard is on
   display on 20th floor of tower.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 74 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is C  in the bass octave
   Transposition is down 5 semitone(s)
   Keyboard range:     F G   /    F D 33
   There is one missing bass semitone
   58 bells were recast or replaced in 2003
     by Whitechapel 
   Prior history:
     In 1956, the instrument was enlarged to its present size
       with bells made by vanBergen   
       (0 bells remain from that work.)
     In 1931, the instrument was enlarged to 72 bells
       by Gillett & Johnston
       (4 bells were added in and/or remain from that work.)
     In 1925, the instrument was begun with 53 bells
       by Gillett & Johnston
       (12 bells remain from that work.)
   Year of latest technical information source is 2003

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

*Links:

The church Website includes a hard-to-find page about the carillon, with a photograph of the 20-ton bourdon.  But it fails to mention the total renovation completed in 2004.  A page about the church mentions the carillon and includes an unusual aerial photo of the building.  The Tours page indicates that the tower, which for many years was open to the public, is now closed.

WCF article on the rebuilding of this carillon, with photos

A city advertising site has good photos and text on Riverside Church.  The same source provides a photo from across the river.

A photo of the tower from the eastern street side accompanies reports from two visitors (#1, #2), both mentioning the carillon.

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 Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Gillett & Johnston bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the third phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the vanBergen bellfoundry, in this region and in the world. Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Whitechapel bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by weight.
Ranking among all North American traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all North American concert class carillons by year of completion.

Index to all traditional carillons in NY.

Index to all tower bell instruments in NY.

*Status:

   This page was built from the database on 11-Feb-08
   based on textual data last updated on 2008/01/09
   and on technical data last updated on 2003/06/24

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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