Discover the history behind the Bell Tower

The Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower is an iconic symbol — and soundtrack — of the Carolina campus that has been on Carolina’s campus for 94 years. But how much do you know about its history?

The tower was offered to Carolina on March 10, 1930, by John Motley Morehead, an 1891 Carolina graduate, and Rufus Lenoir Patterson, who graduated in 1893. The two agreed to split the costs and fully fund the tower in honor of their family members, whose names are on plaques within the archways.

McKim, Mead and White, who were also heavily involved in planning the area around Polk Place, designed the tower, and Atwood and Weeks were its architects.

Construction began in January 1931, and the tower was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day that year. The tower, standing at 172 feet tall, is built of North Carolina brick, in the same style as the buildings around Polk Place, and the trim is made of Indiana limestone.

The most distinctive feature is the tower’s arcade, which features Guastavino tiles that are reminiscent of Carolina Blue. Developed by Spanish architect Raphael Guastavino, the tile arch system is known for its beauty but also for being structurally sound and fireproof. Guastavino tile was used in many New York City buildings, as part of Grand Central Terminal and in the Boston Public Library, another McKim, Mead and White project.

“I don’t think there’s anything quite like that tile anywhere else on campus,” said University archivist Nicholas Graham.

Carolina Alumni, along with the Order of the Bell Tower, will illuminate the tower in blue and white on Aug. 17, the night before the first day of classes. The Carolina Blue lighting also makes an appearance to celebrate football wins, national championships and Commencement. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

The lights and sounds of the tower

Morehead wanted a tower with playable bells on Carolina’s campus. He suggested several locations before the current site beside Kenan Memorial Stadium, including Memorial Hall, Wilson Library and South Building, which already has a single bell.

The tower originally had 12 bells, for a total weight of 14,350 pounds. Two new bells were added in 1998. The chimes that ring at the quarter hour are programmed, but initially the bells were rung manually.

“Students in the music department would ring the bells with levers at the bottom,” said Graham. “Apparently it was quite a workout. You had to pull hard on the levers to make the bell sound loudly enough.”

The first songs played were favorite hymns of the Morehead family, the Carolina alma mater “Hark the Sound” and other songs related to the University. The system became automated in 1967.

In 2019, the University removed the boxwood hedges surrounding the tower to create an open space for visitors and events like tailgating before home football games.

Lights alongside the perimeter of the tower illuminate it each night. Former Carolina Chancellor James Moeser was the first chancellor to light the tower at night, and privately funded lights have illuminated the tower since 2004. More recently, Carolina Blue lighting has been integrated to celebrate football wins, national championship wins and Commencement.

Bell Tower traditions

The Bell Tower Climb started in 1997 as part of Senior Week festivities. The tradition, hosted by Carolina Alumni since 2003, allows seniors to climb the 128 steps to the top of the tower. Only 300 seniors participated in the first few climbs, but now thousands line up to climb to the top and sign their names in a book there.

That tradition is for seniors, but another one open to all is the lighting of the tower on the night before the first day of classes. Carolina Alumni, along with the Order of the Bell Tower, will illuminate the tower in blue and white on Aug. 17 to celebrate the start of the 2025-26 academic year.