page_title: Main Campus of North Carolina State University
section_title: Memorial Tower
hierarchical_section_title: Main Campus of North Carolina State University / North Campus / Memorial Tower
caption_attribution_description: English: The NCSU Bell Tower becomes lit with red lights after athletic victories and other school successes.
context_page_description: The Main Campus is the primary campus of North Carolina State University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, inside the Beltline. Notable features of Main Campus include the Bell Tower and D. H. Hill Library. The campus is known for its distinctive red brick buildings, sidewalks, plazas, and sculptures; some are dotted with decorative brick mosaics. University Plaza is nicknamed "The Brickyard" because it is mostly a flat, open, bricked area.
  The Main Campus is divided into three sections: a North Campus, a Central Campus, and a South Campus. The North and Central campuses are separated by the railroad tracks that run through the area. Pedestrian access between these two campuses is by one of five locations: three pedestrian tunnels, an underpass at Dan Allen Drive, or a bridge at Pullen Road. Of the three pedestrian tunnels, the Free Expression Tunnel is the largest; the other two, nicknamed the Reynolds Tunnel and the Thompson Tunnel, are much more narrow and do not have handicap access ramps.
context_section_description: Possibly the university's most notable symbol is the Memorial Tower, which is situated on the northeast corner of North Campus at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Pullen Road. The bell tower was completed in 1937 and appears on NCSU's official seal. Its blending of Romanesque features and Gothic verticality are reminiscent of the towers of West Point. The 115-foot (35 m) monument, called "a legend in stone" contains 1,400 tons of stone set on a 700-ton concrete base, and exceeded $150,000 in cost. Although 33 alumni died in World War I, the memorial plaque contains 34 names. Before the armistice ended the war, the name G. L. Jeffers, Class of '13, was wrongly reported killed in action. Many years later, however, when the memorial plaque was made, a list was furnished to the manufacturer from which Jeffers' name had never been removed. When the error was noted on the finished plaque, a decision was made to alter the extra name beyond recognition. It was therefore changed to G. E. Jefferson, a symbol of unknown soldiers from State and elsewhere.
  The door of the tower presents the words, "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares."  This is a reference to a passage in the Book of Isaiah, in which the world is peaceful and weapons are converted to prosperous and useful tools.
  The outside inscription on the cornerstone of the tower is marked with the Masonic symbol and uses both the standard notation and year; Anno Domini (Year of our Lord) 1921 and Anno Lumini (Year of Light) 5921, using the Masonic yearly count, where the history of the world begins in 4000 B.C.
  The Belltower is lit up with red lights for a variety of special occasions, including athletic victories.  The Belltower does not actually have a bell; the electronic carillon system that can be heard ringing from the tower is actually housed in nearby Holladay Hall.  A 54 bell carillon system was part of the bell tower's original plan, but an electronic system was chosen due to financial difficulties during the Great Depression.  The most recent electronic bell carillon was installed in 1986 and dedicated in honor of NC State Chancellor Bostian. A grassroots movement, Finish the [Bell] Tower, is currently campaigning to have a real carillon system installed in the tower. The bell tower (Bt) is sometimes used as a unit of measurement, equivalent to the 115 feet (35 m) the tower stands tall.
  The official name of the structure is the "Memorial Tower," however it is informally referred to as the Belltower.
caption: The NCSU Bell Tower becomes lit with red lights after athletic victories and other school successes.
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