Construction on NC State’s Memorial Belltower is expected to continue into November or December 2021. Renovations are aimed at repairing water damage in the shrine room, adding a wheelchair-accessible ramp to the plinth, cleaning the outside of the tower and adding bells.
Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs emeritus, said the Belltower is finally getting the attention it deserves.
“The Belltower is the most iconic building on the whole campus,” Stafford said. “It’s the symbol for NC State. I’m really pleased and excited [the shrine room] is going to be restored back to its original beauty, and also excited about the fact that after all these years, we’ll finally have bells at the top of the tower.”
Work to add 55 bells will begin sometime April-May of 2020. The area around the Belltower known as the plinth will be renamed Henry Square after the benefactor of the renovation, Bill Henry, an NC State alum.
According to Stafford, a ramp will be added to the entrance to allow wheelchair users to enter the Belltower. Marble which has sustained water damage will either be restored or replaced.
Water damage in the shrine room and the surrounding plinth is caused by groundwater coming up from below the Belltower. The entire area will be redone to help prevent more damage, but will be redone to look the same as it does now, according to Cameron Smith, senior director of Capital Product Management.
“We’re trying our best not to change really the look or the feel of the Belltower,” Smith said. “We’re just going to restore it so everything will look very similar to the way it looks now.”
While the schedule is tentative, construction is expected to finish in fall 2021. Many students in the class of 2020 are upset about this, as the Belltower is a common location for senior photos. Campbell Shaw, a fourth-year studying criminology, expressed her disappointment about this.
“I feel upset that the Belltower is being worked on,” Shaw said “As of right now, I don’t get to take fall pictures in my cap and gown, and it also doesn’t look as pretty as it used to.”
Smith said there is still a space for seniors to take pictures despite the fact the tower is fenced off.
“There’s going to be a spot at the stairs off Hillsborough Street coming up to the Belltower,” Smith said. “There’s going to be a spot right there that’s kind of a photo opportunity.”
Smith hopes repairs will help the Belltower stay in good shape for a long time to come. Additionally, he said annual maintenance plans are in the works.
“It’s going to take a long time — a year and a half for the whole thing — but it’s worth it, because we’re going to have a beautiful Belltower with real bells when we get everything finished,” Stafford said.
Boz Kaloyanov contributed to the reporting of this article.
