The Mueller Tower is a historic

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

on the campus of the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. It was built in 1949, and it is named for alumnus Ralph S. Mueller.

History

The tower was built with limestone from Indiana thanks to a $90,000 donation () from alumnus Ralph S. Mueller, the founder and president of the

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

-based Mueller Electric Company. It was designed by George Kuska Jr. when he was still a student at the university, and he later became a professional architect in central California. The construction of the tower was completed in 1949. Its dedication was attended by 2,000 individuals on November 4, 1949. They included Chancellor R. G. Gustavson and President Harold S. Wilson as well as Professor Lynus Burr Smith, who was the head of the department of Architecture, and

Arthur Lynds Bigelow Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, "one of the world's greatest carillonneurs." Other attendees included Deane Waldo Malott, then the president of the University of Kansas, George Kuska Jr., the architect, as well as Mr Mueller and members of his family. The bell tower was cordoned off in 2006 as the limestone began collapsing, and the university lacked funding to restore it. By then, it had become "one of the most recognizable structures on campus," and university officials vowed to restore it shortly. The tower does not include a traditional array of bells. Instead the tower has eight speakers which broadcast recordings or live music played. Mueller, whose career was in electronics, liked the electronic broadcast system idea. The music was initially played on a keyboard, but it was later replaced by tape recordings. As late as 1985, a student played the keyboard prior to football games in the octagonal room inside the tower. For the pre-recorded music, an Embassy Digital Autobell Carillon machine is now used. The tower has also been used to commemorate special occasions, like the 16th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic on December 4, 1996, three days after

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immu ...

. As of 2015, the system was broadcasting music selected randomly, at the hour and at 23 minutes past the hour.

References

External links

The Schulmerich Legacy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller Tower Towers completed in 1949 1949 establishments in Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln buildings and structures Bell towers in the United States University and college buildings completed in 1949