North Carolina State University Memorial Belltower

After World War I, Vance Sykes, a member of the N.C. State Class of 1907, wrote to college alumni secretary E.B. Owen concerning the building of a monument to honor N.C. State alumni who had been killed in the conflict. This was credited with inspiring a movement within the college community toward the monument's planning and construction.[2] A five-person Memorial Committee was soon formed, headed by Carroll Lamb Mann (1877-1961),[11] a graduate of the Class of 1899 and a professor of civil engineering,[12] with E. B. Owen as secretary and treasurer.[13] At a meeting of the N.C. State College Alumni Association of New York on October 3, 1919, a resolution was proposed and passed "that the N.C. State College Alumni Association of New York...suggest as a suitable memorial a clock tower permanently placed, thus obviating the blowing of the 'whistle' on the campus,[n 1] [with] the clock to have a good loud striking bell and chimes, if the expense is not too great."[15] The Memorial Committee considered dozens of proposals before selecting that of the New York alumni chapter.[13][16]

On March 22, 1920, the Memorial Committee unanimously resolved to raise $30,000 ($289,000 in 2018 values[17][n 2]) to erect a 90-foot-tall (27 m) bell tower on the N.C. State campus as a lasting tribute to alumni "who gave their lives in the World War." The committee estimated the tower would cost "in the neighborhood of $10,000," ($96,500 in 2018 values)[17] with the clock costing $2,400 and a set of chimes at around $1,500.[16] As of May 1920, $7,000 had been pledged by college alumni toward the memorial fund, along with less than $6,000 in cash donations. William Henry Deacy of the W. W. Leland Studios in New York City was subsequently chosen as the architect.[6][8] At the annual meeting of the Alumni Association following commencement in May, two of his proposed designs were presented for consideration, "Design A," an 85-foot-tall (26 m) stone and brick adaptation of a colonial church spire, and "Design B," a 115-foot-tall (35 m) tower in "semi-Romanesque style with Gothic treatment of the vertical lines...it is military in character and recalls very strongly the beautiful towers at West Point."[8] "Design B" was unanimously approved by the Alumni Association members.[8]

On November 9, 1920, Deacy visited the N.C. State campus and consulted with members of the Memorial Committee, by which time plans had been made to lay the tower foundation, with the cornerstone to be laid during the May 1922 commencement week.[4] The final design was for a 115-foot-tall (35 m) bell tower built from local granite and holding an initial carillon of 10 bells with the intention of eventually having a 54-chime carillon.[4] After careful consideration, including soliciting inputs from faculty members and J.P. Pillsbury, the college landscape architect, a site for the tower was chosen to the west of Holladay Hall, "on the summit of the hill immediately east and on the axis of Pullen Hall."[4][7]

The tower foundation, with a final area of 48 square feet, was completed by the May 1921 commencement, with the addition of steps on each side of the base increasing the dimensions of the base to 62 square feet.[7] On May 30, 1921, the Alumni Association decided to build the first section of the tower to a height of 18 feet (5.5 m), with subsequent construction based on the availability of funds. Ultimately, the Memorial Committee decided to build that year to the water table, a height of about 14 feet (4.3 m).[18] Though just over $19,000 in pledges had been received by then, with $8,000 collected, estimated project costs for completing the tower had risen to $75,000 ($849,000 in 2018 values[17]).[19] The cornerstone of the Memorial Belltower was laid on November 10, 1921 with Masonic rites conducted by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Oliver Max Gardner, a former lieutenant governor and future Governor of North Carolina, gave the formal address dedicating the memorial, with over 3,000 college students and alumni in attendance.[20] The first section of the Belltower was completed the following month by the J.D. Sargent Granite Company of Mount Airy, North Carolina, at a cost of $13,900 ($157,000 in 2018 values[17]).[21]

Following the completion of the tower foundation and base, construction stopped for over two years, though fundraising efforts continued. On March 6, 1924, with committee chairman Mann presiding, the Memorial Committee convened to discuss erecting the tower's second section, which would add a further 10 feet (3.0 m) in height.[22] Despite some debate over whether to substitute cheaper Indiana limestone for granite, the committee unanimously voted to continue building the tower with Mount Airy granite, which Deacy also fully endorsed.[22] Construction of the second tower section began in June,[22] and was completed by September 1924.[23]

By early 1926, the Memorial Committee was able to build a further 10-foot (3.0 m) section of the tower, with construction entrusted to the J.E. Beaman Construction Company of Raleigh.[13] Graduating classes continued to make pledges for finishing the tower project,[24] though construction again stalled during the Great Depression.[1] Finally, in 1934, the Memorial Committee decided to request federal funding to complete the tower, as it was feared the project would otherwise be delayed indefinitely.[6] In October 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) granted $37,000 ($543,000 in 2018 values[17]) to finish the stonework and complete the remaining 81 feet (25 m) of the tower shaft.[6] In addition, fundraising efforts had generated $40,000 in pledges.[6] Construction of the tower resumed on April 7, 1936.[25] The stonework was finished in 1937, with student honor societies and the Class of 1938 donating the clock, followed by the Class of 1939's donation of floodlights. The tower was finally dedicated on November 11, 1949, by which time costs had reached $150,000.[1]

• Guide to the William J. Bryan Photographs of the North Carolina State University Bell Tower 1937