Niles in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Bells of the Leaning Tower of Niles
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, August 24, 2024
1. The Bells of the Leaning Tower of Niles Marker
1-604 lbs.; B-flat; 2019; Sunderlin
2-510 lbs.; C; 1747; Unknown
3-450 lbs.; D; 2018; Sunderlin
4-280 lbs.; E-flat; 1623; Unknown
5-360 lbs.; F; 2018; Sunderlin
6-205 lbs.; G; 2018; Sunderlin
7-150 lbs.; B-flat; 1912; Pacific Brass Foundry
Bell on Display; Founder unknown
Seven bells ring at the top of the Learning Tower of Niles, corresponding to the seven bells of our sister city's tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Three bells were cast in Italy by different founders in the 17th and 18th centuries and hung in St. Giles church in the village of Cavezzo in northern Italy. These bells were recast from older bells dating to as early as the 11th century. Mr. Robert Ilg obtained them from the Barigozzi bell foundry in Milan, Italy, and they were shipped to Ilger Park District in 1935. The largest of these bells (620 lbs., date 1735) is cracked and is on display inside the towed. A fourth bell was cast by the Pacific Brass Foundry of San Francisco in 1912. A fifth, of unknown origin, is also cracked and is here on display. B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry cast four new bells in 2018 and 2019.
this page online
Erected 2020 by Village of Niles.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music • Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Historic Bells series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1623.
Location. 42° 0.733′ N, 87° 47.028′ W. Marker is in Niles, Illinois, in Cook County. It is on West Touhy Avenue 0.3 miles Caldwell Avenue (U.S. 14), on the right when traveling west. The marker is in front of a bell that stands at the end of the reflecting pool in front of the Leaning Tower of Niles. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6300 West Touhy Avenue, Niles IL 60714, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically,
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, August 24, 2024
2. Leaning Tower of Niles
The bell in this photo was deemed unplayable and put on permanent display here, next to the reflecting pool leading to the Leaning Tower of Niles.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Leaning Tower of Niles (within shouting distance of this marker); Katyń Massacre Memorial (approx. Ύ mile away); Smolensk Airplane Crash Memorial (approx. Ύ mile away); St. Adalbert's Cemetery Veterans Shrine (approx. 0.8 miles away); St. Adalbert Cemetery (approx. 0.8 miles away); Niles Veterans Memorial Waterfall (approx. 0.9 miles away); Site of the Former Niles Village Hall (approx. 0.9 miles away); Land Acknowledgement (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Niles.
Regarding The Bells of the Leaning Tower of Niles. The historic bells at the top of the Leaning Tower of Niles were a surprise find for the Village of Niles after it acquired the building from the Leaning Tower YMCA in 2015. There were five bronze bells, including at least three dating to the 17th and 18th centuries and attributed to a foundry in Cavezzo, Italy. And as far as anyone
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn
3. Leaning Tower of Niles bells
A view of the bells at the top of the tower; the bells ring four times daily.
After a consultant helped the village determine the history of the bells, a $1 million restoration project enabled them to be heard from the top of the tower for the first time in more than a half-century. In all, four new bells were cast, three old ones were repaired, and two were deemed unfixable and put on display at the bottom. The bells were re-installed in December 2019 and are now played four times a day.
Robert Ilg, referenced on the plaque, built the half-size replica of Pisa, Italy's leaning tower to serve as a water tower for the recreational park he developed in the 1930s. Ilg's replica had five bells, just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and they were installed nearly identically to Pisa's tower.
Also see . . .
1. Niles Historic Leaning Tower Bells Making Their Way Back. From Journal & Topics, a news source that covers Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Excerpt: "A grand opening is being planned for early 2020. The towers five bells were removed in the early summer of 2018 as part of an overall restoration project for the Leaning Tower,(Submitted on August 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)which included work on the towers concrete, tile, railings and reflecting pools. At the time, one bell was cracked and another was missing its clapper. In total, four new bells were cast. They will join three older ones in the belfry at the top of the tower. Two older bells not able to be restored will remain at the base of the tower. One of those bells, cast in the year 1735, which cannot be played, will be situated on the first floor inside the tower. A second bell of undetermined age, also not playable, will remain at the base of the tower, outside, Niles Public Works Director Fred Braun said."Springfield College Archives and Special Collections, circa 19604. Leaning Tower of NilesThis early 1960s photo depicts the tower soon after it was donated to the YMCA, and around the last time the bells would be played for more than 50 years.
2. Niles Tower's History Mystery. From WTTW, Channel 11 (Chicago's PBS station), about the rediscovery of the bells at the top of the Leaning Tower of Niles.
Excerpt: "Kimberly Schafer, founder of Chicago Bell Advocates, says bells this old are rare in the United States, so theyre well worth the effort to restore. 'Bells are important because they're soundmarks. They help define and distinguish a space, and they stand for community values that date back to the Middle Ages. Bells were used to organize communities and they still represent those ideals today,' she said."(Submitted on August 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 331 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 25, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
