*Location:

   Virginia Soldiers' War Memorial
     (World War I)
   Pump House Road and Blanton Avenue
   (Virginia Highway 161)
   William Byrd Park
   Richmond, Virginia, USA
   LL: N 37.54097, W 77.48353

   elevator

Site locator map

*Carillonist:

   Lawrence Robinson
   4411 Saratoga Road
   Richmond, VA  23235-1265
   H: 804-320-7734

   19??-?? Hilton Rufty   (d.)
   19??-6? Wyatt Insko
   19??-200? Donald R. Traser   (A)
   Ryan Hebert

*Contact:

   City of Richmond
   Department of Parks & Recreation
   1209 Admiral Street
   Richmond, VA  23220-1701
   T: 804-646-5733
   E: askparkrec@richmondgov.com

*Schedule:

   Tower closed & silent during renova-
   tion; completion expected in 2024,
   including replacement of the trebles
   recast in 1970, to be hung on a new
   upper frame with radial action.

*Remarks:

   13 doubled trebles removed in the
   first recasting.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 53 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is G  in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     A#D#  /    A#C 26
   Transposition is down 3 semitone(s), i.e., from C to A 
   There is one missing bass semitone
   There is an identical practice console
   21 bells were recast or replaced in 1970
     by Taylor       
   Prior history:
     In 1932, a complete instrument of 53 notes was installed with 66 bells
       by Taylor      
       (32 bells remain from that work.)
   Auxiliary mechanisms: nIE   
   Tower details: 
     Height of console:                 44 meters above ground
     Height of lowest level of bells:   48 meters above ground
     Height of highest level of bells:  55 meters above ground
     Belfry openness:   .%
   Year of latest technical information source is 1971

This is one of only eight carillons which were originally equipped with Taylor's doubled trebles.

Taylor news article (Oct.2023) about the latest restoration

A tour page has a good photo of the tower.

The Arts in the Park have a nice photo of the upper part of the tower.

Photo gallery with 6 pictures of the tower

News article (25My'18), with historic photos of the tower, bells, etc.  (Website not accessible from outside the USA)

A city Website has a few pages which mention the carillon, but no photos.

News article, with video clip about the carillon, the tower, and Larry Robinson

Virginia Historical Society article about the history of the War Memorial Carillon, Richmond; with tower photo.

Blog article with views from the top of the tower, plus one photo of the bells and an audio clip.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor 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.

Other concert carillons with similar keyboard ranges.

The bass bell of this carillon is among all great bells in North America.

Index to all traditional carillons in VA.

Index to all tower bell instruments in VA.

   This page was built from the database on 14-Oct-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2024/02/07
   and on technical data last updated on 1992/05/09