Sather Tower
Encyclopedia
Sather Tower is a campanile
(bell and clock tower) on the University of California, Berkeley
campus. It is more commonly known as The Campanile (icon ) due to its resemblance to the Campanile di San Marco
in Venice
, and serves as UC Berkeley's most recognizable symbol. It was completed in 1914 and first opened to the public in 1917. The tower stands 307 feet (93.6 m) tall, making it the third tallest bell and clock-tower in the world. It was designed by John Galen Howard
, founder of the College of Environmental Design
, and it marks a secondary axis in his original Beaux-Arts campus plan. Since then, it has been a major point of orientation in almost every campus master plan. The tower has seven floors, with an observation deck on the eighth floor. Some floors are used to store fossil
s.
Sather Tower houses a full concert carillon
, enlarged from the original 12-bell carillon installed in October 1917 to 48 bells in 1979 and the current 61 bells in 1983. The original bells all bear the inscription "Gift of Jane K. Sather 1914," acknowledging the benefactress for whom the Tower is named. Jane was wife of the Norwegian-born banker Peder Sather
. The largest of the original bells bears an inscription by Professor Greek Isaac Flag, "We ring, we chime, we toll, / Lend ye the silent part / Some answer in the heart, / Some echo in the soul." The current bells range from small 19 pound bells to the 10,500 pound "Great Bear Bell," which tolls on the hour and features bas-relief carvings of bears as well as the constellation Ursa Major
. During the Fall and Spring semesters, the carillon is performed for ten minutes at 7:50 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. during weekdays, from 12:00-12:15 p.m. and 6:00-6:10 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 2:00-2:45 p.m. on Sundays. The bells also toll the hour 7 days a week between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. At noon on the last day of instruction each semester, "They're Hanging Danny Deever in the Morning" is played. (The song employs only the original set of bells installed in 1917.) Following that, the carillon is silent until the end of finals
.
A gift by Evelyn and Jerry Chambers in 1983 endowed the position of University Carillonist (currently Jeff Davis) as well as practice rooms, practice keyboards, a campanology library, and international Carillon Festivals every five years from the anniversary of the Class of 1928. Private and group lessons are offered in carillon through the Department of Music, subject to auditions and with Music majors receiving priority. Students work on one of Sather Tower's two practice keyboards until they are ready for performance on the carillon itself.
An elevator takes visitors 200 feet up Sather Tower to an observation deck with sweeping views of the campus, the surrounding hills, San Francisco
, and the Golden Gate
. Admission is free for UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty, one dollar for seniors, Cal Alumni Association members, and persons age 18 and under, and two dollars for everyone else. Sather Tower is also an obvious suicide point, and in 1958 a 67-year-old retired attorney jumped to his death, prompting a daily patrol to guard the platform. In 1961, after sophomore John Patterson's suicide jump, glass panes were installed to enclose the viewing platform. However, in 1979 these panes were removed after the carillon was expanded and due to complaints that the panes were muffling the sound. Finally, in 1981 a set of metal anti-suicide bars were installed.
Sather Tower also houses many of the Department of Integrative Biology's fossils because its cool, dry interior is suited for their preservation; these fossils are mainly from the La Brea Tar Pits
in Los Angeles
.
The surrounding promenade features a grid of pollarded London Plane trees, frequently enjoyed for the sport of slacklining
.
, England, which is modelled on the Torre del Mangia
in Siena
. David Lodge
's novel Changing Places
tells the story of exchange of professors between the universities of Rummidge
and Euphoric State, Plotinus (thinly disguised fictional versions of Birmingham and Berkeley), which in the book both have replicas of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
on campus.
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
(bell and clock tower) on the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
campus. It is more commonly known as The Campanile (icon ) due to its resemblance to the Campanile di San Marco
St Mark's Campanile
St Mark's Campanile is the bell tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy, located in the Piazza San Marco. It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city....
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and serves as UC Berkeley's most recognizable symbol. It was completed in 1914 and first opened to the public in 1917. The tower stands 307 feet (93.6 m) tall, making it the third tallest bell and clock-tower in the world. It was designed by John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard was an American architect.He is best known for his work as the supervising architect of the Master Plan for the University of California, Berkeley campus, and for founding the University of California's architecture program...
, founder of the College of Environmental Design
UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design
The College of Environmental Design, also known as the or simply is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley. The school is located in Wurster Hall on the southeast corner of the main UC Berkeley campus...
, and it marks a secondary axis in his original Beaux-Arts campus plan. Since then, it has been a major point of orientation in almost every campus master plan. The tower has seven floors, with an observation deck on the eighth floor. Some floors are used to store fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s.
Overview
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
, enlarged from the original 12-bell carillon installed in October 1917 to 48 bells in 1979 and the current 61 bells in 1983. The original bells all bear the inscription "Gift of Jane K. Sather 1914," acknowledging the benefactress for whom the Tower is named. Jane was wife of the Norwegian-born banker Peder Sather
Peder Sather
Peder Sather was a prominent Norwegian-born American banker who is best known for his legacy to the University of California, Berkeley. His widow, Jane K. Sather, donated money in his memory for two of the school's most famous landmarks...
. The largest of the original bells bears an inscription by Professor Greek Isaac Flag, "We ring, we chime, we toll, / Lend ye the silent part / Some answer in the heart, / Some echo in the soul." The current bells range from small 19 pound bells to the 10,500 pound "Great Bear Bell," which tolls on the hour and features bas-relief carvings of bears as well as the constellation Ursa Major
Ursa Major
Ursa Major , also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can best be seen in April...
. During the Fall and Spring semesters, the carillon is performed for ten minutes at 7:50 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. during weekdays, from 12:00-12:15 p.m. and 6:00-6:10 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 2:00-2:45 p.m. on Sundays. The bells also toll the hour 7 days a week between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. At noon on the last day of instruction each semester, "They're Hanging Danny Deever in the Morning" is played. (The song employs only the original set of bells installed in 1917.) Following that, the carillon is silent until the end of finals
Final examination
A final examination is a test given to students at the end of a course of study or training. Although the term can be used in the context of physical training, it most often occurs in the academic world...
.
A gift by Evelyn and Jerry Chambers in 1983 endowed the position of University Carillonist (currently Jeff Davis) as well as practice rooms, practice keyboards, a campanology library, and international Carillon Festivals every five years from the anniversary of the Class of 1928. Private and group lessons are offered in carillon through the Department of Music, subject to auditions and with Music majors receiving priority. Students work on one of Sather Tower's two practice keyboards until they are ready for performance on the carillon itself.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and the Golden Gate
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
. Admission is free for UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty, one dollar for seniors, Cal Alumni Association members, and persons age 18 and under, and two dollars for everyone else. Sather Tower is also an obvious suicide point, and in 1958 a 67-year-old retired attorney jumped to his death, prompting a daily patrol to guard the platform. In 1961, after sophomore John Patterson's suicide jump, glass panes were installed to enclose the viewing platform. However, in 1979 these panes were removed after the carillon was expanded and due to complaints that the panes were muffling the sound. Finally, in 1981 a set of metal anti-suicide bars were installed.
Sather Tower also houses many of the Department of Integrative Biology's fossils because its cool, dry interior is suited for their preservation; these fossils are mainly from the La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
The surrounding promenade features a grid of pollarded London Plane trees, frequently enjoyed for the sport of slacklining
Slacklining
Slacklining is a practice in balance that typically uses 1 inch nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points. Slacklining is distinct from tightrope walking in that the line is not held rigidly taut ; it is instead dynamic, stretching and bouncing like a long and narrow trampoline...
.
Similar structures
A tower based on the Berkeley Campanile is located at the University of Concepción, Chile. Another university clock tower bearing a resemblance to the Campanile is the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower at the University of BirminghamUniversity of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, England, which is modelled on the Torre del Mangia
Torre del Mangia
The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1338-1348, it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's premier square, adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico . When built it was one of the tallest secular towers in mediaeval Italy...
in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
. David Lodge
David Lodge (author)
David John Lodge CBE, is an English author.In his novels, Lodge often satirises academia in general and the humanities in particular. He was brought up Catholic and has described himself as an "agnostic Catholic". Many of his characters are Catholic and their Catholicism is a major theme...
's novel Changing Places
Changing Places
Changing Places is the first "campus novel" by British novelist David Lodge. The subtitle is "A Tale of Two Campuses", and thus both the title and subtitle are literary allusions to Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. A successful sequel, Small World, was published in 1984.-Synopsis:Changing...
tells the story of exchange of professors between the universities of Rummidge
Rummidge
Rummidge is a fictional city used by David Lodge in some of his novels, particularly Changing Places, Small World: An Academic Romance, and Nice Work...
and Euphoric State, Plotinus (thinly disguised fictional versions of Birmingham and Berkeley), which in the book both have replicas of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa...
on campus.