Netherlands Carillon

Netherlands Carillon
The Netherlands Carillon viewed from the northwest.
General information
Type	Tower housing a carillon
Architectural style	Modernist
Location	Between Arlington National Cemetery and the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia
Country	United States
Coordinates	38°53′18″N 77°04′10″W / 38.8882°N 77.0695°W / 38.8882; -77.0695
Construction started	circa 1958
Inaugurated	May 5, 1960 (1960-05-05)
Renovated	1983, 1994–95, 2019–21
Renovation cost	$0.3 million (1983) $1.4 million (1994–95) $5.8 million (2019–21)
Owner	National Park Service
Height
Architectural	127 feet (39 m)
Top floor	83 feet (25 m)
Observatory	60 feet (18 m)
Technical details
Floor count	2
Lifts/elevators	0
Grounds	93 square feet (8.6 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Joost W. C. Boks
Architecture firm	Petit & Fritsen
Other designers	Petit & Fritsen, Royal Eijsbouts, Van Bergen (bell casting, 1952–53)
Renovating team
Renovating firm	Petit & Fritsen (bell casting, 1995, 2020)
Website
home.nps.gov/gwmp/learn/historyculture/netherlandscarillon.htm

The Netherlands Carillon is a 127-foot (39-m) tall campanile housing a 53-bell carillon located in Arlington County, Virginia. The instrument and tower were given in the 1950s "From the People of the Netherlands to the People of the United States of America" to thank the United States for its contributions to the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945 and for its economic aid in the years after. The Netherlands Carillon is a historic property listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Arlington Ridge Park, which is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It is owned and operated by the National Park Service.

The carillon is situated on a ridge overlooking the Potomac River and Washington, D.C., and it provides expansive views of the National Mall, West Potomac Park (its original, temporary location), and Arlington National Cemetery. Its adjacency to the Marine Corps War Memorial to the north and Arlington National Cemetery to the south draws 1.2 million visitors annually, including recreational visitors from Rosslyn's residential areas. Throughout the day, the carillon automatically plays the Westminster Quarters. On significant days of the year in Dutch and American culture, it plays automated concerts, and from June to August, the director-carillonist Edward Nassor hosts a concert series whereby visiting carillonists perform weekly concerts on the instrument.