History
The Carillon
In 1969, members of the White Plains Beautification Foundation traveled at their own expense to visit eight cities in five countries in Europe to gather ideas to enhance their own city and to have input into decisions which would affect the look of White Plains in the future. One of their discoveries was made in Amsterdam when they heard bells playing from the Royal Palace. They learned that the music was produced by a Schulmerich carillon (pronounced kar-i-lon) made in the United States in Pennsylvania. A carillon is a set of stationary bells hung in a tower which plays music at regular intervals. The Schulmerich Company is the world's largest producer of carillons and bells and one of only four producers of hand bells in the world. The Schulmerich Carillon, which is an electronic device, has the equivalent of 111 bells and plays selections by means of a vinyl roll on a daily pre-programmed basis.
When Westchester County began construction of the courthouse over 35 years ago, WPBF set out to put a carillon atop the building in the hopes of enhancing the lives of local residents and emulate some of the great and prestigious public squares one sees around Europe. It took five years of fundraising and $25,000 to purchase the carillon which the foundation then donated to the County. It was dedicated November 22, 1974.
As the years passed and technology advanced, parts for the original carillon were unavailable and so WPBF purchased a new digital carillon, a Tyme Stryke model also made by Schulmerich, which was also donated to the County.
A committee of Beautification Foundation members chooses the selections to be played which include seasonal and patriotic pieces. The carillon also tolls for sad occasions, such as memorials. Four speakers on the roof of the courthouse broadcast the chimes and concerts. Though the carillon can be programmed with up to 500 songs, the bells may also be played manually.
The Triantafillu Fountain
The Triantafillu Fountain, located at the corner of Main Street and North Broadway, was dedicated in the spring of 1978. A substantial portion of the funds were contributed by the Harry D. Triantafillu family. Mr. Triantafillu invented Blue Coral, a treatment product used to clean, polish and protect auto and boat exteriors. He spent many years developing and perfecting his formula for the product on nights and weekends in White Plains where Mr. and Mrs. Triantafillu lived most of their lives.
His abilities to develop and sell his product paid off handsomely and permitted him to share some of his wealth to assist many local organizations.
The fountain was designed by White Plains Beautification Advisor Leonard Salvador, and constructed by contractor Al Doria. At holiday time the fountain can be fitted and converted into a tree stand for the city’s holiday tree.
Location: Corner of Main Street & North Broadway
The Hope Garden
South of the Gazebo in Tibbits Park at the flagstone triangle a lovely garden was created by White Plains Beautification Foundation in 1988. The garden was sponsored by Charlotte Hope Szabo and named the "
Hope Garden", a name very special to Charlotte for, as she explained, all females in her family are given the middle name of "Hope". Four new teak benches were purchased by Charlotte and installed to replace old deteriorating benches. Gardens were planted around the benches and a small slow-growing spruce tree was planted as a centerpiece next to a drinking fountain. It is a popular spot for reading, and enjoying the view of The Triantafillu Fountain, Gazebo, sculptures and the many lovely park gardens. Charlotte, who retired from the White Plains Public Library and is a member of the WPBF Board of Directors and her husband, Roland Barnes, Treasurer of WPBF, are also Major Adopt-A-Park Sponsors of the Hope Garden.
The G. Kent Hawks Fountain and Gardens
Often referred to as the Hawks Water Cascade, the
G. Kent Hawks Fountain and Gardens was created in memory of a 37-year-old architect who was a resident of the city, a vice president of the Beautification Board and a friend. It replaced a damaged shell fountain that had been in disuse for years, and with the growth of weeds and scrub brush had become unsightly.
Robert Pollack, another architect on the Board, proposed the plan for the rustic, woodland fountain constructed of boulders. When the $25,000 cost was raised construction began and the fountain was dedicated in 1978. The Hawks family observed the 20
th anniversary of Kent's death on June 23, 1996, with the planting of a Kousa dogwood tree across the path from the fountain in his memory.
Surrounded by tall office buildings, high rise apartments, busy vehicular traffic and The Westchester, this quiet refuge of woodland setting is a place for solace and contemplation. Two memorial benches have been installed in this area by the Leslie family in memory of their daughter Susan Locke Leslie.
Lovely flower gardens frame the Water Cascade, and you can spot one of our new green Adopt-a-Park signs identifying the Gold Sponsor Verizon.
White Plains Says Good-Bye to a Living Memorial
It was saved from destruction in 1968 when members of the fledgling White Plains Beautification Foundation fought for its survival, and it survived a deadly fungus disease in 2005, but the century-old copper beech tree in the Theodore Malmud Parklet on Quarropas Street has sadly succumbed to disease and is slated for removal as of late 2008.
According to a 1981 New York Times article, the tree was planted in the spring of 1900 by Dr. George Gilbert Platt, a White Plains resident and a trustee of the White Plains Public Library. Platt had taken a cutting from a weeping copper beech owned by Samuel Lee Parsons of Flushing. Parson's tree had grown from a cutting he had taken from a tree owned by Baron Deshon of Belgium in 1848 during one of his trips to Europe. Acccording to a 1980 Reporter Dispatch article, Platt planted the tree in anticipation of a new library to be built at the corner of Quarropas and Grand streets.
In 1968 when Urban Renewal and plans for a courthouse and parking garage at that corner threatened to destroy the tree, Theodora L. "Teddy" Russell, one of the founders and a vice president of the White Plains Beautification Foundation, worked tirelessly to see the tree preserved. Because of her efforts, plans for the courthouse were redrawn allowing the tree to remain. In 1981, Mrs. Russell asked that the tree be designated a living memorial to her husband, the late Eugene E. Russell, a former assistant county attorney, and set up a trust to provide for the perpetual care of the tree. Mrs. Russell died in November 1991 at the age of 83.
In 2005, Alpine, now The Care of Trees, "adopted" the Eugene E. Russell Memorial copper beech tree, donating their services to treat the tree for a fungal disease, reintroduce natural microorganisms missing in the soil, and prune the tree when necessary.
But for all the efforts of well-meaning citizens, the magnificent copper beech whose "weeping" dark purple leaves for over a century provided shade and a welcome "oasis in a mass of concrete," as Mrs. Russell is quoted to have said [The Reporter Dispatch, Aug. 8, 1968], sadly will be no more.
However, a new Rivers Purple Beech tree (Fagus sylvatica 'Riversii') was planted on the site Monday, April 26, by Rosedale Nurseries, using funds from the Russell trust. Rosedale Nurseries also planted a backdrop border of Hatfield Yews.