On a cold December night in 2020, Tim Sleep, Naperville’s resident Carillonneur, made his way up to the temperature-controlled bells room in the Millennium Carillon to play on New Year’s Eve, gracing the Naperville area with the melodious tones of the Carillon’s bells. The same bells would be silent the following year, pressing pause on a well-known Naperville tradition.
In the summer of 2021, the Millennium Carillon in Downtown Naperville was closed for repairs. The construction lasted much longer than expected, but is slated to come to an end this spring, almost two years after the initial closing. The Carillon’s closing has left many considering the tower’s significance to the Naperville community or if it was necessary in the first place.
In 2015, Naperville Riverwalk Commission conducted a structural assessment of the Carillon which revealed that the tower was in far worse shape than assumed. Finding corrosion in steel joints, leakage points and deteriorated chunks of cement, the Carillon appeared much older than its mere 15 years of existence. After several years of deliberating next steps, the Riverwalk Commission awarded a $2.092 million contract to StruxC-MC, LLC in June of 2021 with repair construction expected to begin the following month and end in the spring of 2022.
Bill Novack, Naperville’s Director of Transportation, Engineering and Development (TED), says the project presented several obstacles concerning cell phone carrier antenna interference, finding alternative materials and supply chain issues. After considerable delays and headaches, Novack says the finish line is near.
“It’s substantially complete. I was out there a couple of days ago. The remaining work is basically some missing plantings, paperwork and landscape work, and one brick sidewalk that needs to be relayed and the tower needs to be cleaned up,” Novack said.
Built at the new millenia, the tower was initially controversial according to Novack, as some Naperville residents were against its construction. The recent repairs and closure reignited a similar conversation to that of 2000, with community members divided on whether to repair the landmark or leave it to ruin.
“The response [after the structural assessment] was there were a lot of people that thought it was a mistake and that we should just tear it down and be done with it. There were others that thought ‘No, this is Naperville, we take care of our stuff and we need to fix it,’” Novack said.
After numerous years of consideration, the city opted to repair the tower. Tim Sleep, Naperville’s resident Carillonneur since 2007, says the Carillon’s controversy is embedded in the nature of the instrument.
“It’s one of the few instruments when you think about it that your audience has no choice but to listen to you. You’re out there walking the dog and someone’s up there playing not great music and they’re going to hear it,” Sleep said.
Because of the Carillon’s audible intrusiveness, being considerate of what Sleep calls the “soundscape” of the community was a primary goal of his and the city. Performing a variety of appropriate music remains a requirement of the Carillon’s players.
To garner a positive reception from the Naperville community, Sleep has tried to integrate the Carillon into the goings-on of the city. Having played for engagement proposals, songs from Naperville North or Naperville Central’s spring musical, “Frosty the Snowman” for kids sledding on Rotary Hill, interfaith prayer services and even for the releases of Harry Potter books, Sleep says he aims to connect to the community through the Carillon’s bells.
Leo Martinez, a junior at Naperville Central High School and the student representative to the Riverwalk Commission, says that the Carillon’s presence in his own life is what drove him to get involved with the Commission.
“I wanted to be the student representative because I have so many memories of walking by the river whether that's with my family or just my dog. My grandpa's house also backed up to the river so I always had to go down to it every time I visited,” Martinez said.
Not only has the Carillon become a Naperville landmark, but some feel it has come to represent a history of community building and unity. Remembering how Centennial Beach was built in honor of the city’s 100-year anniversary and the Riverwalk in honor of its 150th, Novack says the repairs to the Carillon are a continuation of community spirit that has spanned decades.
“When the end of the 1900s came along and we got the Carillon, I think people coming around now in 2021-22 and structurally enhancing this structure continues to show that spirit that the Naperville community has,” Novack said.
The legacy of unity continues with the reopening of the integral Millennium Carillon this spring. Novack says he feels his role in the Carillon’s construction and repair process connects him with the city’s history and many others who’ve worked to beautify it.
The Millennium Carillon is expected to reopen in the spring of 2023.
Credits:
Grace Ainger