Photo by John Cross
Minnesota State University's bell tower will get a facelift over the next few months.
MANKATO — It's been about 18 years since a big check from the late Lloyd B. Ostrander led to the erection of one of Minnesota State University's most striking landmarks.
But now, with cracks in the bricks noticeable to anyone who walks by, the time has come for a bit of a restoration for MSU's Ostrander-Student Memorial Bell Tower.
What, exactly, will be done to the bell tower?
"Replacing broken brick, tuck pointing mortar joints and silicon sealant in the glass dome," says Paul Corcoran of MSU's physical plant. "A new vertical expansion joint will be added to each face of the tower to provide the flexibility to insure that these repairs will last longer than the original construction. Special attention has been applied to match the existing colors of brick and mortar."
The bell tower was completed in 1989. Ostrander, who graduated from MSU in 1927, and his wife, Mildred, kicked in the first $138,000. MSU's Student Association added another $131,400.
Originally, bids for the project came in way over budget, and the project had to be scaled back a bit. When the tower went up, then, it did so sans clocks and bells. While the tower was completed in 1988, the clocks and bells weren't added until a year later.
The project's theme is unification of past, present and future. "Past" comes from the stone arches near the tower that came from the Old Main building when the campus was located downtown. "Present" is represented in the type and color of the bricks that closely match those used on other campus buildings. And "future" is represented by the glass and steel girders used in the tower's top-most portion.
The tower took about four months to build, and stands about 80 feet tall.
"The Bell Tower is the tallest structure on the campus arboretum, east of Trafton Science Center," MSU spokesman Michael Cooper said, "and it has been one of the University's landmarks since it was completed."
Today, the bell tower's hourly chimes and occasional music give the MSU campus a collegiate feel. Only thing is, there are no bells inside the tower. The sounds inside come from a electronic carillon.
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