Located north of the Capitol on Constitution Avenue, the Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon stands as a tribute to U.S. Senator Robert Alphonso Taft, son of President William Howard Taft. Designed by architect Douglas W. Orr, the memorial features a Tennessee marble tower and a 10-foot bronze statue of Senator Taft sculpted by Wheeler Williams. The shaft of the tower measures 100 feet high, 11 feet deep, and 32 feet wide.
Above the statue is inscribed, "This Memorial to Robert A. Taft, presented by the people to the Congress of the United States, stands as a tribute to the honesty, indomitable courage, and high principles of free government symbolized by his life." The base of the memorial measures 55 by 45 feet and stands approximately 15 feet high, with jets of water flowing into a basin that rings the base.
The upper part of the tower houses twenty-seven bells cast in the Paccard Foundry in Annecy-le-Vieux, France. The largest, or bourdon bell, weighs 7 tons. At the dedication ceremony on April 14, 1959, former President Herbert Hoover stated that when these great bells ring out, it will be a summons to integrity and courage. By resolution of Congress, the bells play "The Star-Spangled Banner" at 2 p.m. on the Fourth of July.
Construction of the memorial was authorized in July 1955 and funded by popular subscription from every state in the nation. More than a million dollars were collected to bring the monument to life.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
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