Shafer Tower

Shafer Tower is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) free-standing bell tower, or campanile with a carillon and chiming clock in the middle of the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. This three million dollar project was completed at the end of 2001 and received final inspection February 2002. Breaking the record for the highest bell tower in Indiana, Shafer Tower is one of the couple hundred examples of carillon bell towers spread among the United States.

Shafer Tower
Shafer Tower
General information
TypeCampanile
Architectural styleModern
LocationCenter of McKinley Avenue, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Coordinates40.20380783°N 85.40800476°W / 40.20380783; -85.40800476
Named forPhyllis and Hamer Shafer
Completed2001
Dimensions
Other dimensions48 bells in the carillon
Design and construction
ArchitectEdmund Hafer Associates
Website
Shafer Tower Website

Dedicated in 2002 to Phyllis and Hamer Shafer, Shafer Tower has become an unofficial landmark of Ball State University. It stands in the median of McKinley Avenue on University Green, the northern quadrangle of campus.

A narrow staircase in the tower leads to the control room of the carillon, which has 48 custom-made bells. From here a musician can play the instrument on special occasions or for concerts. The bells are programmed by computer to play the Westminster Quarters to announce the time between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. One can also control the bells of the tower with a keyboard, which depending on how hard the keys are pressed, will make the bells chime louder. If manual operation is not desired, Shafer Tower is also ready to play over a hundred of already programmed songs.

Due to a construction defect in the type of cement used to build the tower, most of Shafer Tower had to be built twice. Though other courses of action were considered, it was decided the tower had to be taken down and replaced March 2001. Completion was delayed as a result, however Ball State University didn't have to pay any reconstruction cost. [1] The architect of record was Edmund Hafer Associates of Evansville, Indiana.[2]

References
  1. "Shafer Tower remains on schedule". The Ball State Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  2. "Shafer Tower Progress Report" (PDF). College of Architecture and Planning. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-07-15. Retrieved 2007-01-07.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.