Big_Joe_(bell)
Joseph (commonly known as Big Joe) is a bronze bell that hangs 125 feet (38 m) into the bell tower of Neo-Gothic Saint Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.[2][1] The endearing moniker Big Joe is a combination of the names of Joseph T. Buddeke, the largest donor of the project, and Big Ben, the great bell in the iconic Palace of Westminster clock tower in London.[3][4]
Measuring 7 feet (2.1 m) tall and with a diameter of 9 feet (2.7 m), the 17.5 ton bell is the largest swinging bell ever cast in the United States.[3] It was cast on October 30, 1895 by the E. W. Van Duzen Company at their foundry on Second Street and Broadway.[4][5] The massive bell was hauled by 12 horses up Gilbert Avenue, then down Madison Road to St. Francis de Sales in the neighborhood of East Walnut Hills.[4]
When first swung in January 1896, its deafening peal startled the Walnut Hills neighborhood and could be heard for 15 miles (24 km).[3] According to some accounts, the resultant E♭ produced vibrations which shook the houses and buildings below and shattered nearby windows.[2] However, a modern-day bell expert at Cincinnati-based The Verdin Company, foundry of the nearby and even larger World Peace Bell (which was cast in France), dismisses damage to window glass inflicted by Big Joe as a local legend with no historical basis. According to them, Big Joe was never swung again because of trembling in the bell tower and crumbing of mortar; the bell was simply too big for its tower.[1][6]
Following the bell's inaugural ring, the parish priests decreed the bell shall "remain immobile forever".[1] The 640-pound (290 kg) clapper was not used again; today the bell is rung only with an oversized foot hammer tapping its rim.[3][7]
Big Joe is struck thrice daily at 6 am, 12 noon and 6 pm for Angelus, followed by the chiming of four smaller bells, known as the "ladies in waiting", resting above it.[3][4]
