The NC State University Memorial Belltower was built to honor alumni who sacrificed their lives in military service during World War I. Construction began with the cornerstone in 1921, but progress was delayed by the Great Depression, World War II, and funding challenges. This resulted in the Belltower being built in stages. In the 1930s, water damage affected the tower’s interior, exterior, foundation, and surroundings, and the original plan to include bells was never realized.
In 2019, NC State secured funding for a comprehensive restoration. This ambitious project revived the granite exterior of the 112-foot tower, its 48-foot-square plinth, and the interior marble-walled Shrine Room and Memorial Tablet. A 55-bell carillon with a playing cabin was installed, along with new interior stairs and upgraded mechanical and electrical systems. Site improvements included replacing the south-side steps with an integrated, gently sloping granite path to provide universal access to the tower. The project also restored the surrounding plaza space, provided a new landscape plan, and established Henry Square.
As the lead landscape architect, CLH led the restoration of the site’s paving and landscaping during the Memorial Belltower’s restoration. The design seamlessly provided universal accessibility to the plinth level while addressing drainage problems. Special care was taken to preserve the existing granite while reconstructing the plinth to prevent the rising damp that had begun to degrade the interior. Pink granite cobbles from the plinth were repurposed on site in the historic fishscale pattern and replaced with larger slabs of pink marble. The universal access path was sourced from the original quarry in Mt. Airy, NC.
