Granite quarried at Mount Airy, 1,400 tons of it, built this 115-foot Memorial Belltower on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh. Conceived as a war memorial to honor university alumni killed in World War I and the university's overall participation in the conflict, it now serves as a perpetual memorial for N.C. State students and alumni who gave their lives in the service of the nation. As you look, you can register its presence as a prominent university symbol and a popular rallying point for the campus community.
The tower is built of 1,400 tons of granite quarried at Mount Airy, North Carolina, and rests on a 700-ton square concrete base whose area is 62 square feet; that base includes the four sets of concrete steps on each side. The shaft, designed by William Henry Deacy of the W.W. Leland Studios in New York City, combines semi-Romanesque Revival features with a Collegiate Gothic verticality. Notice how the tower itself is 18 square feet at its base, tapering to 14 square feet at its top—an engineered silhouette that dominates the green around you.
The tower and its steps gather people at its base before you.