This column is probably the most painful one I’ve written in all my time writing for Positively Naperville.
I can’t even fathom the thought of this city without Moser Tower and its 72-bell carillon. Our schools are some of only a few that still have art and music programs. We have always made the arts a priority. To think that thought process may be changing makes me afraid of what the future might hold for the city in general.
I am in the middle of achieving my associate’s degree in Photography at College Of DuPage, and many of my assignments have called for photos of people, light, shadow, motion, color, and many other subjects. In every class that I have taken there are always multiple students that present images of Naperville, most of them having the Moser Tower with the Millennium Carillon as a main focus. For many of the students that live near the college in Glen Ellyn or further north, the carillon is a thing of beauty that defines our city. And if you think that might be a bit far to travel to take a few photographs, I have dear friends that came from England to see it.
Yes, that “bell tower” that looks over our city is really a very rare instrument that is recognized by many people around the world for being one of only a handful of grand carillons in existence. Artists have traveled from around the world just to place their hands upon it.
I am revisiting the facts about the tower now because the structure is undergoing assessments to determine its needs of repair, and there previously was talk of removing it if repair gets too costly.
The Moser Tower with the Millennium Carillon sums up all the reasons I moved to Naperville. It is a pillar that lets the world know that we are a community that seriously embraces culture and the arts. What other city do you know of that has a musical instrument as its centerpiece? This is who we are. Extracting the carillon from Naperville would be to remove part of its heart, and that’s something none of us can afford.
