Including both large and small examples, there were only six true carillon towers in the United States prior to the construction of the Deeds Carillon. Of these, two were on college grounds, two on private estates, one in a cemetery, while the sixth was the one built by the late Edward K. Bok on his Florida estate. A true carillon must have a minimum of twenty-three bells providing the tones and semitones to encompass the full octaves. Except in rare instances when they were hung in the gabled arches of the old Spanish missions and outside oriental temples, carillon bells are seldom seen. For hundreds of years architects have struggled with the problem of providing structures to support carillons which will elevate them to a height at which they can be adequately heard over the surrounding countryside. The solution had invariably been to erect an enclosed tower in which the bells are hidden from view and covered with grilles which screen the bells from sight and tend to muffle the sound. [Illustration: The casting of carillon bells is an art handed down from father to son. The Meneely Company which cast the Deeds Carillon bells practiced the art for six generations. Once a bell is cast, no alterations can be made in it. If a true tone is not achieved the work must be done over.] [Illustration: The largest bell in the chandelier of 32 bells in the Deeds Carillon weighs 7,000 pounds, and the smallest 250 pounds. They are cast in bronze and the total weight of all the bells and the chandelier is 32 tons.] [Illustration: Hours of planning and consultation with architects and the bell casters went into the building of the Deeds Carillon.] Starting with the instruction from Mrs. Deeds that the thirty-two bells in the Deeds Carillon must all be exposed to view, the architects, after long study and investigation, were able to carry out her wishes. The Deeds Carillon is the first tower to have all the bells mounted entirely in the open, thus insuring greater carrying power and purest, unrestricted beauty of tone. Such a departure from the old method of construction required a complete rechecking of the science of carillon tower design and bell placement. Like Colonel Deeds, Mrs. Deeds was a perfectionist. She visioned the ideal structure, and the architects, Reinhard, Hofmeister & Walquist of New York, designers of Rockefeller Center, met every requirement. The landscaping surrounding the tower was in the hands of Olmstead Brothers of Boston, foremost in their field.