Manchester to Restore Chime for 100th Anniversary
(photo courtesy of Manchester University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowManchester University says its iconic Manchester Chime, which has been quiet since 2019, will sound again next fall to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The university says it hired The Verdin Co. in Cincinnati to take down and refurbish the existing 10 bells, create four additional bells, and build a new tower.
Melanie Harmon, the university’s vice president for advancement, said the plan is to build an open bell tower in the middle of the Manchester University Mall. Plans call for the new tower to be installed next spring or summer.
“The Manchester Chime is steeped in treasured history,” said Harmon. “The sound is like comfort food for alumni, playing in their memories for years after they graduate. The new Chime tower promises to have a similar impact on future generations of Manchester students.”
For nearly 100 years, the university says the chime signaled 8 a.m. classes and sounded again at the dinner hour. It also rang at commencement, weddings, memorial services and special gatherings.
According to the university, Verdin is scheduled to remove the 10 bronze bells from the administration building tower August 9 and will restore them.
Harmon says the new location will make the chime a “visual centerpiece” of the North Manchester campus.