1979 Carillon Installation
The world-class carillon housed in Century Tower was purchased for approximately
$200,000 with funds accumulated from student fees over several generations
of students. The funds were earmarked by the Board of Regents and the
Legislature for campus improvements in the performing arts. The carillon
purchase was endorsed unanimously by the Student Senate in 1976.
The original 49 bells housed on the top floor of the tower were cast in 1978 by the firm of Koninklijke Eijsbouts (Royal Dutch Bell Foundry) of Asten, The Netherlands. The bronze bells were tuned at the foundry by carefully shaving metal from the interior of the bells and will never need re-tuning. The bells are hung individually from stainless steel bolts on a massive steel frame, with the largest nearest the top of the chamber. The original instrument weighed 57,760 pounds.
The bells were first rung on May 14, 1979. A plaque on the south side of the tower reads in part:
"Upon the recommendation of President and Mrs. Robert Q. Marston, the carillon is a gift to the campus from students, both past and present, and stands at the center of this community of scholars, marking the movement of time, heralding occasions of importance in the lives of its people, and pealing music of all ages to delight the common spirit."
The largest bell in the tower -- called the "Bourdon" bell -- stands five feet tall, is five feet, nine inches in diameter and weighs about 7,000 pounds. This bell tolls out each hour on a low B-flat. Like five other bells, the Bourdon has an electro-magnetically actuated hammer that strikes its outside rim. While all of the bells have adjustable inside clappers for hand playing, the tones of six special bells are triggered by a computerized time clock to play a four-phrase melody written especially for that purpose by the former chairman of the UF School of Music, Dr. Budd Udell. The clock-strike melody is heard progressively on the quarter hours. Click here to hear the clock strike.