The Century Tower

Begun in 1953 by the Auchter Company to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of UF's parent institution, Kingsbury Academy in Ocala, it also serves as a memorial for students and alumni who perished in both World War I and World War II. This fulfilled the original campus design of the university's first architect, William Augustus Edwards, which called for a Gothic bell tower as a focal point for the entire campus. At the time of the tower's completion in 1956, however, there was no money to buy bells for the carillon. An electronic bell system given by J.E. Davis and A.D. Davis, two of the Davis Brothers who controlled Winn-Dixie, was used until it finally broke down in 1975. In 1976, $200,000 from accumulated student fees was used to buy the initial set of 49 bells. A Dutch bellfoundry, Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry designed, fabricated and installed the full carillon in 1979. In 2002 a major gift from the estate of Larry Allen Webb of St. Augustine, Florida, (a distant relative of President Dwight D. Eisenhower) made possible the addition of twelve trebles for a total of 61 bells, complete revision of the carillon playing action, and provision of an identical studio practice clavier in the adjacent University Auditorium with sound samples from ten major carillons throughout the world. The Century Tower Carillon of sixty-one bells was completed in its present form and dedicated on September 11, 2003. The construction of the Tower begun in 1953. It was completed in 1956. However this not a cmpleted date until the dedication date which is 11 September 2003. This is the date that I used for the date of installation. In 2008 the Century Tower became a contributing property in the University of Florida Campus Historic District which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1989. Perhaps because Century Tower was built soon after the university became co-ed, an old school joke states that every time a virgin graduates from UF, a brick falls off the tower. It is worth noting that the tower stands in pristine condition.