A distinct peal from a bell tower can become a hallmark sound for a church and its surrounding community, but creating a bell tower that is architecturally iconographic becomes a visual representation of that church’s past, present and future.
Tom Ventulett, one of our founding members, just completed one such bell tower for the Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta. The church has a history of service to the Atlanta community, beginning that service as a haven for orphaned children after the Civil War.
“In 1872, as Atlanta had begun to recover from the devastation of the Civil War, signs of prosperity, which would become the hallmark of its future, became evident. The railroad became the source of an eventual booming economy. Growth also brought challenges. The women widowed and the children orphaned by the war were struggling – and Episcopalians responded with great concern. In 1872 the Rev. W.B. Elliott, rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, designated the church’s Easter offering to found a mission Sunday school for “the poor of the northern suburb.” With the help of a gift of land by Mrs. Richard Peters and building funds by Mrs. George Walker, the little Mission of Holy Innocents’ had its beginning at the corner of Ponce de Leon and Juniper Streets with the erection of a chapel-classroom.”
