University of Texas Tower

by Joan Carroll

Title

University of Texas Tower

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

I arrived just in time early one morning at the University of Texas tower (you can see it's about 6:40 am) and the lights went out not too long afterwards! The building is unimaginatively named Main Building but is probably referred to more ad The Tower. The Tower is a structure at the center of the University of Texas at Austin campus in Austin TX. The tower stands 307 feet tall (94 m) and has 30 floors. Completed in 1937, it is the university's most distinguishing landmark. The observation deck of the UT Tower offers a spectacular view of the UT Campus and the Austin area in all directions. Thanks to the cooperative effort of students, staff, and the University administration, the observation deck at the top has been remodeled and reopened to the public after several decades of closure. The observation deck offers a spectacular view of the campus and the city, but unfortunately for me, it was not open on the day I was there. The building houses administrative offices and use of the elevators for tours during the week would be disruptive...so they tell me. At the top of the Tower is a carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas. The carillon is played weekly by student carillonneurs. On the morning I my visit, you can tell nothing special is happening since the lights are all white. For various athletic victories and other special events, there are other color schemes. For example, an orange tower with office windows lit to form the numeral "1" is used for national championships in NCAA sporting events. During Gone To Texas (welcoming new students to campus) and commencement ceremonies, the Tower windows are lit up to form the year (e.g. a 12 for the Class of 2012) of the class being honored.

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July 24th, 2014

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