Robert, thanks for the heads-up on Tower, but we don't have that chain in Oregon. I love "Wachet auf," but the finest version I've ever heard of it was in an old recording from Bok Tower Gardens in Florida, played on a carillon! This, of course, was not Bach's version, but the original hymn "Sleepers Awake," played fairly straightforward at first, then a second verse of rapid-fire treble work and the melody played on the bourdons. It sends a chill down my spine just to hear it.
That Silverton siren is only sounded about 10 seconds each day at noon. Here's the YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erW7nwpvZqo
On rare occasion it is given two or three blasts of this length for serious fire calls.
Also, there is an interesting tower clock I would like to visit at the Crook County Courthouse in Prineville, Oregon, in which the whole mechanism is still powered by a rock-filled bucket for a weight. No bells, though.
Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.