It’s impossible to miss NC State’s Memorial Belltower from Hillsborough Street. Standing at 115 feet tall, it’s one of the most recognizable features on campus — especially when lit red. 

Tom Stafford, former vice chancellor for student affairs, said many students on campus aren’t aware of the significance and story behind the tradition of lighting the Belltower red, which came from Marye Anne Fox, NC State’s only female chancellor. Stafford said she drew inspiration for the practice from her time as vice president at the University of Texas at Austin. 

“She had been a vice president at the University of Texas, and on that campus, when something really big or important happened, they would light their tower orange,” Stafford said. “So, when she got to NC State as the chancellor, she brought that tradition with her.”

The Belltower is lit red for monumental athletic wins, including football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball series wins against ACC opponents. But Stafford said the Belltower is lit red for a multitude of occasions not limited to athletic victories. 

“Maybe they think it’s only for athletics, but that’s not the case,” Stafford said. “We light the tower red for military holidays, like Memorial Day and Veterans Day, on Commencement, when a faculty member or student achieves some very high honor and much more.”

The chancellor’s website has a full list of occasions for which the Belltower is lit red. 

Tim Peeler, writer and editor for University Communications and Marketing, said the Belltower has come to be a revered monument for the NC State community — thanks in part to Stafford, who conducts tours of the Belltower.

“In the 1980s, when I was in school, the Belltower was something that was there and admired but did not hold a place in the hearts of students the way it does now,” Peeler said. “I believe that that can be credited to Tom Stafford. His tours have made the Belltower not just a hallowed place, but a sacred place on campus.”

The Belltower is one of NC State’s ten hallowed places, which the University defines as “irreplaceable campus buildings, landscapes and natural settings that have accrued special meaning over time.” 

Peeler, who conducts tours of hallowed places on campus, said the title protects significant sites on campus from any imposed changes. Other hallowed places include Holladay Hall, the Court of North Carolina and the Brickyard.

Stafford said the Belltower was originally built as a military memorial in honor of members of the Wolfpack who were killed in World War I.

“[The tower] was built to honor the men from State College who left school back in 1917 and joined the military,” Stafford said. “They went into World War I, and many of them died, so the tower was built to remember and honor those men.”

The Belltower and its shrine room preserve NC State’s roots in military service.

“[People] will ask if they don’t already know, why this place is so important,” Peeler said. “It’s important because of those 35 names that are inside of the shrine room, … because of the 34 people who are represented there who died in the war and the one person represented who didn’t. It represents all who have served from NC State, founded as a military school. So that connection is always there. [The Belltower] connects all the different communities NC State has always been meant to serve.”

Those who are interested in taking a tour of the Belltower can contact Stafford at thstaffo@ncsu.edu.