For bell, sound advice

The architect in charge was Wendall Kalsow, a man very much of the present who lives for the past. An architecture fanatic since seventh grade, Kalsow deals almost exclusively with historic preservation projects, such as the renovation of Provincetown’s Town Hall and Gasson Hall at Boston College.

But moving a bell made by the Paul Revere & Sons Bell and Cannon Foundry was a new kind of challenge.

“The donor wanted everything,’’ said Kalsow, referring to the family of James Storrow, who purchased the bell.

For starters, Kalsow needed an acoustician. Since 1876, the landscape around the Meeting House had changed, and there would hardly be a point in installing a bell in the steeple if no one could hear it.

Kalsow brought in Lincoln B. Berry of Cavanaugh Tocci Associates in Sudbury to answer some questions: Would the bell be loud enough? Would the bell sound good?

“As projects go, this one was a little unusual,’’ Berry said.

Berry used computer software to create a digital model of the bell, the steeple, and the surrounding buildings, and he discovered something surprising.

Downtown Boston, it seemed, is the ideal place for a bell.

Surrounding the steeple are tall buildings with reflective windows that cause the peal of a bell to bounce back toward its source. Instead of hearing one ring coming from the steeple, bystanders will find themselves enveloped by a cascade of bells coming from many directions.

A downtown pedestrian in 2011 would probably have a better listening experience than a colonial Bostonian as tones of C-sharp, E, and A tumble down the walls of neighboring skyscrapers.

“It’s kind of like a concert hall,’’ Berry said. “The tower’s proximity to various buildings is going to produce a nice ripple of reflection, and it will add some grandeur to the overall character of the sound.’’

Specialists also needed to assess what parts of the bell needed repairs or even scrapping.