The Singing Tower

The Singing Tower stands on the grounds of Luray Caverns, a slender stone tower rising above a quiet lawn, and it is one of those small, strange pleasures that make a visit to a place like Luray feel richer than the headline attraction suggests. It was built in the 1930s as a memorial to a local woman and houses a carillon of 47 bells whose largest members weigh thousands of pounds. The tower is played by an instrument operator from a keyboard in the tower rather than by a recording, and seasonal recitals ring out across the valley, which makes the whole property sound different to the way it looks.

The carillon is the point. A carillon is a set of tuned bells played from a keyboard of wooden batons struck with the fists and pedals struck with the feet, and the Luray instrument was cast to be played as a concert instrument rather than as a chime. Listeners who arrive for a recital sit on the lawn or on benches under the trees and hear the music drift across the grounds, which sounds odd until you realize that nothing about the setting competes with it.

It is a particular pleasure in autumn, when the surrounding hills are turning, and in summer evenings, when families picnic on the grass.

There is also something to look at. The tower is built from local stone and its stonework, arched openings and tall proportions have a distinctly early twentieth century charm, set in a quiet, open landscape. You can walk around it and photograph it from several angles, and the open lawn in front gives you room to step back and frame it against the hills.

Interpretive information on the grounds explains the memorial history and the bell founders. Because the tower sits next to the caverns, the usual way to see it is to build it into a cave visit, either before the tour while you wait for your entry slot or afterward as a calm counterpoint to the underground.

Plan around the recital schedule if the music is the reason you are going, because the tower is not played continuously and schedules change with the season. Check ahead if you want to hear a concert, and treat the grounds as a pleasant place to sit even if there is no recital that day. The walk from the caverns parking area is short and level, so the tower is accessible to most visitors, and it makes a good rest stop for people traveling with older relatives or small children who need a break from the cave tour.

Combined with the car museum and the other attractions on the property, it rounds out a half-day visit well.

It also helps to know what the tower is not. It is not a cave, a ride or a museum, and families expecting a headline attraction may find it quiet, so treat it as an interlude. That is exactly its strength: after an hour in the caverns surrounded by other tourists, a few minutes on a bench with bells in the air resets the pace of the day, and many repeat visitors say it is the part they remember most.

If you are building a longer plan, put it in the middle of the day rather than at the end, when the light is still good and the grounds are not yet emptying.