Some Recent (Sort Of) History

A while ago I was talking about the bell tower on campus with my wife. I have always assumed that it had been here for years. It turns out it was completed the year that I made my first trip to Purdue. So to me this tower has always been here. It was the new thing on campus, but to me everything was new back then. That little bit of knowledge is what made me start to think about what else I was in the dark about and led to this weekly segment where I learn something new about the area. With this week being homecoming week it made sense to take a look at a subject on the campus at Purdue. For the campus as a whole this bell tower is a newer development. For current students this thing has been there forever though. If you follow this blog then you know that I love to make photos of this tower. Every year I say that I will slow down on my bell tower photos, but every year I make more. In fact the moon lines up pretty perfectly to make a similar photo to the one above tomorrow night. Maybe one more photo wouldn’t hurt.

The History Of The Purdue Bell Tower

As I said above this tower was complete in 1995. The tower became official during homecoming week when it was dedicated. This tower is inspired by the famous Heavilon tower that used to be on campus. The original Heavilon tower burned down four days after it was completed. The Purdue president at the time made the declaration that it would be built “One Brick Higher.” Years later Purdue football coach Darrell Hazell would use that phrase for the football program. The Heavilon tower was actually built nine bricks higher and lasted 60 years until that version of Heavilon was demolished. The football program would be set back many years using the slogan. Back to the tower though. The bells in the tower are the same bells that were once part of the Heavilon tower. I love that this iconic tower is part of campus. I am sure that you will see more photos of the tower as the years move on.