The center of Harvard Yard will once again be filled with the sonorous clang of a large bell, after a new one was installed yesterday in Memorial Church’s belfry. In June 2011—two months after the bell company Chime Master Systems installed a new clapper—Memorial Church officials noticed that the previous bell “was making a funny sound,” and soon realized that it had cracked. After determining that the new clapper had caused the crack, the University sued the installers. The original 5,000-pound bell—donated in 1932 by University president emeritus A. Lawrence Lowell, class of 1877—was deemed no longer usable, and was replaced by an electronic speaker that rang out over Harvard Yard at 8:40 a.m., every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and during Commencement; after this year’s ceremony, the speaker was removed. The John Taylor Bell Foundry in the United Kingdom, the same company that cast the original bell in 1926, also produced the new bell.
Harvard’s Memorial Church gets new bell
Harvard’s Memorial Church gets new bell
After a two-foot crack appeared in 2011, the old bell is finally replaced.
You might also like
At A.R.T., the Musical “Wonder” Explores Bullying and Friendship
Auggie Pullman’s story comes to life through an inventive space metaphor
Trump Administration Appeals Order Restoring $2.7 Billion in Funding to Harvard
The appeal, which had been expected, came two days before the deadline to file.
At Harvard, AI Meets “Post-Neoliberalism”
Experts debate whether markets alone should govern tech in the U.S.
Most popular
Explore More From Current Issue
The Trouble with Sidechat
No one feels responsible for what happens on Harvard’s anonymous social media app.
A Forgotten Harvard Anthem
Published the year the Titanic sank, “Harvard’s Best” is a quizzical ode to the University.
