Workers reinstall bells after renovation of the carillon in 1996. Click to see larger photo
Campanile compendium

Facts and figures

Hourly clock chimes

Hours tolled since installation: about 1,900,000

The largest bell in the carillon, inscribed in memory of Olin Templin, counts out the hours between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., but the chimes that announce it and ring at quarter-hours are separate from the bells of the carillon.

KU Endowment purchased the chimes using a fund established by Elizabeth M. Watkins. They play the series of notes familiar from Big Ben in the Palace of Westminster. Hence, they’re called the Elizabeth M. Watkins Westminster Chimes.


The Westminster Chimes strike 8 o’clock.

Campanile and Memorial Drive
Groundbreaking: Jan. 10, 1950; cornerstone laid June 4, 1950
Dedicated: May 27,1951
Architects: Homer F. Neville and Edward B. Delk, Kansas City, Mo.
Landscape architect: Alton C. Thomas, University of Kansas
Contractor: Constant Construction, Lawrence
Structure: Reinforced concrete
Exterior walls: Mixed, rough-hewn Silverdale, Cottonwood and Junction City limestone; laid in courses of 2 ½, 4 and 10 ½ inches
Diameter at base: 22 feet, 9 inches
Height: 120 feet
Levels: Memorial Room, practice clavier room, performance clavier room, 32-foot bell chamber
Interior inscription: Allen Crafton, professor of speech and drama
Bronze door panels
Dedicated: June 6, 1955
Sculptor: Bernard “Poco” Frasier, Tulsa, Okla.
Foundry owners: Eugenio Ortiz and Fernando Diaz, both of Mexico City

Memorial Drive
Length: 2,630 feet
Connects Memorial Union (WWI) with West Campus Road
Passes Memorial Campanile (WWII) and Vietnam and Korean war memorials
Overlooks Memorial Stadium (WWI)

Carillon
Dedicated: June 6, 1955; rededicated following renovation, April 26, 1996
Bell foundry: John Taylor & Co., Loughborough, England
Bells: 53, in six tiers, weighing from 10 pounds to almost seven tons; copper/tin alloy; covering almost four and a half octaves
Total weight of bells: about 117,000 pounds
Carillonneur at dedication: Anton Brees, Carillonneur at Bok Singing Tower, Lake Wales, Fla.
University Carillonneurs: Ronald Barnes, 1951-1963; Albert Gerken, 1963-2000; Elizabeth Berghout, 2000-present.