National Register of Historic Places in Alameda County

National Register #82004650: Sather Tower
14 August 2005
(Click Photo to Zoom)
National Register #82004650
Sather Tower
AKA The Campanile
Campanile Way and South Hall Road
University of California at Berkeley
Built 1914

Sather Tower, designed by John Galen Howard, is the prime symbol of the Berkeley campus.

It is a seven-story steel-frame shaft sheathed in granite with a slit window at each floor and a clock at the top. The observation loggia above has a Classically detailed balustrade and three open arches. A Classic entablature supports another balustrade with four corner posts having pyramidal obelisks capped with bronze flames. Within is a smaller tower element which terminates in a bronze, spiked lantern.

The tower was built with a gift from Jane K. Sather as a memorial to herself. It was nicknamed The Campanile for its resemblance to St. Mark's Campanile in Venice of which it is a free version.

The chimes were cast by John Taylor & Sons, Loughborough, England. Their delivery was delayed by World War I. They were first played on November 2, 1917 and dedicated on Charter Day, 1918.

Adapted from the NRHP nomination.

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