Today I’m joining Thursday Doors, hosted by Norm Frampton, so that I can share with you the following door + gate photos– and a bit of information about carillons.
I took these photos at Dogwood Park in Mariemont, OH. It is a village east of Cincinnati, OH, and is one of the nation’s first planned suburban communities. The park is charming and within it is the Mariemont Bell Tower, a carillon with 49 bells.
Carillons are musical instruments that contain at least 23 cup-shaped tuned bells. Often, as is in the case of this particular carillon, the bells are hung in a belfry and are connected to a keyboard. When a musician hits the keyboard, using his or her fists, each bell rings, creating a pleasing loud sound.
There are only 166 traditional carillons in the United States, and many of them are on university campuses or in city parks, like this one.
Here’s what I saw in Dogwood Park on a sunny summer afternoon. The whole place looked like it belonged on a Hollywood movie set– that’s how perfectly maintained it was.
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GATED DOORWAY into Mariemont Bell Tower.
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Looking up at Mariemont Bell Tower while standing in front of it.
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DOOR to restroom within Mariemont Bell Tower.
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Side of Mariemont Bell Tower as seen through trees.
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GATE [open] to the park that surrounds Mariemont Bell Tower.
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That’s a beautiful tower. Good choice for doors.
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Thanks, Dan. The door might be underwhelming, but the tower itself was amazing.
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I never thought much about what a Carillon really was. Thanks for the education. And the great shots – it was a nice day there, wasn’t it?
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Z-D, I never thought about what a carillon was either until I went to put this post together. I got curious and researched. WHO KNEW IT WAS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT? Not me.
And yes, it was a great day there. Only sorry that I didn’t snap a pic of the kid with the pet chicken sitting in the park. 👀
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Certainly not a musical instrument they taught in school. Really not a good fit for marching band.
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😁 Good point.
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Beautiful
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Thanks.
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What a beautiful tower…the park looks peaceful, too.
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Jill, it was a mellow place. Very pretty. And so clean!
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Carillons are one of my favorite things. Beautiful images, Ally.
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Elen, I knew of them and about them vaguely, but now that I understand what carillons are I’m smitten. 🎶
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Did you get a concert?
You’ve seen this post of mine about Bok Tower Gardens and it’s carillon . . . but you might want a re-peek now that you have a different frame of reference:
https://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/bok-tower-gardens/
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nancy, there was no concert when we visited. This was a spontaneous look-see adventure, having driven by this bell tower many million times.
We went to Bok Tower when I was a girl. I remember thinking that the sound was too loud! Will checkout your link, thanks for providing it here.
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BFF and I enjoyed the carillon concert . . . once we wandered 1/4 – 1/2 mile away from the base of the tower. 😀
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Yes, I can imagine that at the one you visited sound carried. At this one, smaller and with forest and hills around, I dunno how far away you can hear it. 🤔
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Maybe you’ll find out while driving around the park looking for a place to park so that you can enjoy one of the Summer Sunday night concerts.
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nancy, I imagine that’s exactly how we’ll find out. I’m now wondering if an ice cream shop about half a mile away from this carillon might be the way to experience the music and enjoy a tasty dessert. Ideas…
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Gorgeous photos Ally Bean! I have a thing with doors –
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Susan, thank you. Door photos are fun. Norm’s got a good thing going with this challenge.
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we have a smilar tower here in my town – did not know there 166!
and I LOVE the opening photo image of the gated doorway – the mood and depth pulls you in.
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prior, thank you. I didn’t know how rare these carillon bell towers were until I started doing research for this post. Now I really want to go back and hear a concert at this one.
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hope you get to do the concert – and at ours they had a really fun musical at the Xmas holidays it was annual for decades – but I think this last year it ended
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This particular one has Sunday night summer concerts, but the parking situation is difficult so we’ve never tried to go. Maybe this year though…
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yes – some events you have to really consider issues like crowds and parking – and hope you make it to one or a few
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Great shots!
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Thanks, Jackie.
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Once again I learned something new here Ms. Bean. Thanks for continuing my education. Great doors.
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Janet, I didn’t know any of this about carillons until I went to one. This post might be light on doors, but it’s filled with information so I hope that Norm won’t get upset! We’re learning things here. 🤓
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Learning is one of the best parts of this whole gig 😀
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I agree, Norm!
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Gorgeous! I’ve heard (and heard of) carillons but that’s as far as my knowledge went. The only one I’ve experienced is in Niagara Falls, if memory serves. Thanks, Ally!
Deb
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Deb, as a child on vacation we went to Bok Tower in FL where we heard the bells, but I didn’t understand then that a carillon was an instrument. Now I want to visit one and hear it do its thing. Adding to my bucket list…
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Interesting doors! I didn’t know about the bells!
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Kate, me either. Yet now that I know about the bells, I want to hear a carillon. 🎶
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That’s a gorgeous place. I would love to hear those bells played!
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Margaret, I’d like to hear the bells, too. In the summer there are Sunday night concerts, but getting to this little village and finding a place to park are tricky. But maybe…
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What a beautiful tower! I would love to listen to the bells in action. Hmmm… 166 of these in the US, I wonder if there is one anywhere around where I live? Must go to the googles to find out.
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Janis, if you click on the link I have under the sentence about the 166, there’s a list of where carillons are located in the US and the world.
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We have two close by!
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Excellent! Visit, photograph, enjoy.
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We have a carillon here in Naperville, too, although I have yet to really get up close and personal with it. I’ll have to do so. 🙂
janet
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janet, I’ve driven by this carillon for years, but never stopped to look at it. When Z-D and I stopped to look at it last week I wasn’t going there to be part of Norm’s doors, but once there I had an idea!
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I enjoyed your photos. It’s great to see a place lovingly cared for. Hope you get to hear the bells at a perfect distance.
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Anne, the bell tower and surrounding park were picture perfect. No litter, no graffiti– just small town Americana at its best. I want to hear the bells, now, too. Someday…
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I glanced through the long list and found I have been in several of the places mentioned, Riverside Church in NY, for one. I wasn’t aware of the bells. My loss!
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Maybe you’ll get back there again? And this time you’ll know to be impressed with the carillon!
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Lovely photos. Wish I could hear the carillons as they played, but I imagined the sound. Ahhhh.
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Pam, this is something that I’ve seen from the road for years! Glad that we stopped to see it. Finally.
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Wow. Even all the detail to decorate around the restroom door. Seeing that someone must’ve loved their job enough to bother makes me happy for them.
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Betsy, I know! There were little decorative touches all over the bell tower. It was built in a different time. Cannot even imagine the cost of doing that amount of detail today.
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No joke! Too bad, really. It’s like a lost art, though no doubt it could be done.
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I love that bell tower entrance in particular!
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Allie, it was pretty, but not too overdone. And there it was in this family park like it was totally normal to have a carillon next to the ball fields.
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One more question – is there a carillon in Carillon Park in Dayton?
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Yes. It’s mentioned on the list that I linked to. Someday we can stop to see it, too. Maybe hear a concert there. Better parking.
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I love carillons – what a beautiful place.
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Jan, it was so peaceful and pleasant the day we went there. *sigh* All days should be like that!
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Such amazing photos!! What a gorgeous park. I would love to hear the bells, especially since I play in the bell choir at church. This would be so different! Even the bathroom door is intriguing. You’re so lucky to have such a beautiful place so close.
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Beth, this is a little park that I knew existed but had never stopped to investigate. It was about as idyllic as a city park can be, and the bell tower was beautiful. My photos don’t do it justice! Someday we’ll get back that way to hear a concert.
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It’s a lovely tower indeed. These days carillons do seem to be fewer and fewer. No matter the tune the tone is always so light and uplifting. It’s hard not to smile when one is bong, bing, bonging away.
Excellent post.
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Norm, having driven by this tower for about 20 years it seemed like it was time to actually stop and visit it. I didn’t go with the intention of finding a door, but there it was… and a door is a door… so voilà a contribution to your weekly challenge.
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Nice sleek and clean look of the tower. Love carillons – I grew up with them. In Holland many churches have carillons. Thanks for the pleasant memory!
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Jesh, I can only imagine how lovely it’d be to grow up around carillons. Lucky you, eh?
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Oh, I love big wrought iron gates. They always look so stately and Gothic, like something from a Bronte novel. And seeing them a bit open like that is always just a little bit…mysterious, even with that gorgeous blue sky.
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nance, there was no lack of wrought iron around this bell tower– all of it in pristine condition. I was sorry that I couldn’t get a shot of both gates in one photo, but they were huge and I didn’t have the perspective to do that. Now that you mention it, it was Bronte-esque around this place.
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That gate was spectacular, and if anyone has ever heard carillon bells, they never forget the depth of the sound.
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Judy, I’ve not heard the carillon bells, so now that I know more about them I want to. This bell tower has a concert every Sunday night in the summer, so we might try to get there.
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Like Zen-Den, I learned lots from this post. Thanks for researching…and sharing!
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Donna, this was all new info for me, too. I knew about carillons, but thought that they were buildings– didn’t understand that they are instruments. 🤷♀️
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You got your door and gate in there! A door to a restroom is still a door, and a welcome one at that.
Sounds like an interesting subject. I’ll have to check out the host post.
There’s a carillon at the Botanic Garden, I think sometimes there are concerts. But I’ve never seen it played. That seems like it could be fun.
Loud.
But fun.
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Isa-Lee, Norm’s door challenge is unique and fun. He’s very lenient about what is a door, although I did get a pic of an actual door so I’m cool. I learn so much from all the bloggers who participate.
I’ve not been to a concert at this bell tower, but would like to go. I agree, it’d be loud, but it’d be an experience worth having. At least, once.
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Alas, there are no bells in my belfry, just bats. Lots and lots of bats…
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evilsquirrel13, no squirrels in your belfry? I’d have thought there might be a few…
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Nope. The bats scared them all away. So they moved to the pantry only to get frightened off by the ants. That led them to my car engine, but the horses chased them off. Now they’re living in the barn, at least until the cows come home…
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😁
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Even the restroom door is clean and shiny!
Reading through some of the comments from others, I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t know about carillons. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even heard that word before! I wonder if Australia has any…
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Pistachios, according to the info on this link, Australia has four carillons: Bathurst, Canberra, Perth, and Sydney. Any of those near you?
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Unfortunately not places I can get to without a flight or a very long drive. I’ll be sure to visit the carillons if I find myself in those cities though! I might be visiting Canberra next year…
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I recall there being a carillon somewhere near Dayton, Ohio, but I don’t remember which town. I don’t recall for sure if I ever heard it played, but I think my mother and I did go to hear it once.
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Eilene, there’s a carillon in Dayton near the University of Dayton in a city park that is near to a Wright Brothers museum. I’ve driven by the carillon, but never given it much thought.
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I think it’s out in the open on a hill, not in the lovely setting yours is in.
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I think you’re right. It’s been a very long time since I was up that way!
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Me, too!!
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That’s a nice addition to #ThursdayDoors! Love the gate the most 🙂
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joey, thanks. I like gates almost as much as doors.
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Thanks for introducing me to another carillon bell tower. The only one I knew about is in Lake Wales, Florida. Bell towers whisper hope with their pleasing tones. Love this!
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Marian, I was aware of carillons, but not informed about them. This one was a great find that had been in my world all along.
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I wrote an article a few years ago about carillon concerts. That’s right — a local place with a carillon had concerts weekly and people brought their chairs and sat on the ground nearby and listened. It’s a tradition in the town!
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tara, that’s a fun tradition. This carillon that we visited has Sunday night concerts in the summer, but parking is tricky and getting there is not an easy drive! But… maybe one night we’ll make a go of it.
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Carillons make such beautiful music. Thanks for including the link to the list of carillons in the US (and in other countries). I enjoyed looking at the list – and remembering the various ones that I’ve seen over the year.
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Sheryl, I didn’t get the opportunity to hear the music, but the belfry and grounds around the it were beautiful. Now that I know about carillons, I hope to see more of them– like you have!
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I love carillons. This is a great tower and I loved the video of it with the aerial view.
There are 3 carillons in Toronto and one is played every Sunday morning before mass. I made a special trip downtown early one Sunday a couple of years ago just to hear it. It is still a fervent wish of mine to someday be able to go inside a bell tower and watch the carillon being played!
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Joanne, I knew that there were some pretty towers around that were called carillons, but I didn’t understand that the tower was one thing while the carillon was the instrument within. Now that I’m savvy to all of this, I want to hear a carillon concert in person. I agree it’d be cool to watch someone play the instrument. Don’t know how you make that happen.
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Me either … which is why I haven’t made it happen yet 😉
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Oh my, I almost missed this post. What a small world we live in. Yet also so large, we can miss much. How fun to find this post among my emails. My son and his family started out in Mariemont. But you’ve shown me much more than I ever realized. My focus in the small town center then was more on the movie theater and Graetor’s ice cream.
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Janet, how interesting that you know this little village personally! The town center is the epitome of charming. I know that ice cream parlor too well. The carillon is about half a mile away from there, toward Cincinnati proper. So glad you saw this post and commented. What fun!
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That looks like a lovely place to visit and chill. I feel like I know carillons, maybe from a movie or something? The fact there are only 166 traditional carillons in the US is pretty amazing.
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Kate, I’d no idea that carillons were so rare until after we visited this one and I did some research about them. There must be a movie somewhere that features a carillon, but beats me what it is!
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