WASHINGTON — A fundraising drive is underway to help pay for improvements to a local memorial that makes beautiful music.
The Netherlands Carillon in Arlington was a thank-you gift to the United States for helping the Dutch during and after World War II.
At first, in the mid-1950s, its 50 bells were housed in a temporary tower in West Potomac Park.
The tower that exists today was dedicated in 1960, and the last restoration was done in the mid-1990s to mark the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from the Nazis.
Now, the National Park Service and the Royal Netherlands Embassy have joined forces to restore and improve the memorial.
The plan includes restoring the chimes, operating system and landscape around the memorial, as well as adding three more bells.
The National Park Service has pledged to raise at least $4 million of the project’s estimated $5.8 million cost.
The public can donate toward the effort through the nonprofit Netherland-America Foundation.
