Queens College Clock Tower Bells Collection
Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: SCA-0062
Scope and Contents Note
The majority of this collection consists of photos from an album depicting the
creation and installation of the five bells in the clock tower of Rosenthal Library. A
handwritten essay explaining the history of the project, as well as four pages of
captions describing the photos, are included. Supporting materials include
mementos from the Walkers’ trip to the bell foundry in the Netherlands as well as
articles on similar sets of bells.
Dates
- 1989-2012
Creator
- Queens College (New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
Access
Collection is open for research. Staff may restrict
access at its discretion on the basis of physical
condition.
Copyright
The Queens College Clock Tower Bells Collection is
physically owned by the Queens College Libraries.
Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the
authors or their legal heirs and assignees. The
collection is subject to all copyright laws. Queens
College assumes no responsibility for the
infringement of copyrights held by the original
authors, creators, or producers of materials.
Historical Note
The Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Clock Tower of Queens College’s Rosenthal
Library was built in 1988 and dedicated in 1989. Its name honors three civil rights
workers – James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner – who
were murdered in Mississippi in 1964, where they were volunteering for the
Mississippi Freedom Project. Goodman was a Queens College student at the
time of his death.
Shortly after the tower’s dedication, a campaign to furnish it with a real bell
carillon, rather than electronic chimes, was spearheaded by music professor
David S. Walker (’52). Using funds from the New York State Dormitory Authority,
a five-bell peal was commissioned and cast at the Royal Eijsbouts Bell Foundry
in the Netherlands.
The bells, ranging in weight from 209 to 3,377 pounds, are individually tuned to
sound the Westminster Chime at 15-minute intervals, with the largest tenor bell
tolling the hour. Each bell has a unique inscription and is dedicated to a different
segment of the Queens College community.
Walker took a personal interest in the design of the bells and visited the foundry
with his wife, Avonelle (Bunny) Walker, in January 1990, when they were being
cast. He also gave an account of the bells’ history at the dedication ceremony on
November 7, 1990.
Most of the photographs and papers in this collection relate to the design,
construction, and installation of the bells as documented by the Walkers.
Queens
Extent
1 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains photos and related papers
documenting the creation and installation of the five
bells in the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Clock
Tower of Queens College’s Rosenthal Library.
Arrangement Note
The Walker photo album has been disassembled for preservation purposes. A
page-by-page photocopy preserves its layout, and the original photos and other
items are housed in archival sleeves and folders.
Source
Donated by Avonelle (Bunny) Walker in 2012
Creator
- Queens College (New York, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Title
- Queens College Clock Tower Bells Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Print finding aid prepared by Lori Wallach, 2013, machine-readable finding aid prepared by Stephanie McEvoy, 2014.
- Date
- Fall 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Queens College (New York, N.Y.) Department of Special Collections and Archives Repository
Contact:
Queens College Libraries, CUNY
Benjamin Rosenthal Library RO317
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing 11367 USA us
QC.Archives@qc.cuny.edu
Queens College Libraries, CUNY
Benjamin Rosenthal Library RO317
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
Flushing 11367 USA us
QC.Archives@qc.cuny.edu
