Hidden Gems Tour – NC State Memorial Belltower

by Jenny Kulikowski, Preservation Raleigh

On Sunday, June 21, 2026, Preservation Raleigh invited their supporters to join a special “Hidden Gems Tour” of NC State University’s Memorial Belltower, the most sacred space on campus.

Dr. Tom Stafford, retired Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and unofficial university historian, guided our tour group. He started the tour with the founding of North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts on March 7, 1887. He touched upon its first benefactor, Richard Stanhope Pullen, and shared stories about the early days of the college, before bringing the attention back to the main attraction of the day, the Memorial Belltower.

In 1921, the cornerstone was laid for the 115-foot granite monument, designed to honor the alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I. Dr. Stafford explained how the construction had been halted and restarted several times, with sections of 10 feet being added when money was available. Thanks to WPA funding, the Memorial Belltower stonework was completed in 1937. Other additions came with subsequent donations in 1938 (the clock), 1939 (floodlights), and the 1940s (chimes, shrine room, and memorial plaque). It wasn’t until November 11, 1949, that the monument was finally dedicated.

One of the stories that most surprised tour participants was that, until 2021, the belltower never actually housed bells. Instead, the original chimes were provided by speakers and prerecorded bell sounds. In 2017, the university received a gift from Bill and Frances Henry that funded a set of 55 bells to be installed in the belltower. That gift also funded a carillon (to play the bells) and full interior stairs (which were originally planned but never complete) as well as repairs and renovation to the granite structure and the Shrine Room. On May 14, 2021, a hundred years after the original cornerstone was laid, the newly restored Memorial Belltower with its installed 55 bells and carillon was rededicated and the surrounding plaza was renamed Henry Square.

Upon bringing the tour group up to the belltower, Dr. Stafford presented the key to the Shrine Room to a multi-generational Wolfpack family so they could have the honor of opening the door to this iconic structure (pic below). While inside the Shrine Room, like so many people before them, Preservation Raleigh tour participants paid their respects to the 34 alumni who lost their lives in World War I.

Preservation Raleigh is grateful to Dr. Tom Stafford for giving his time and knowledge to conduct the tour, and to Tim Peeler who helped make all the arrangements.

Preservation Raleigh is pleased to present our Hidden Gems Tours exclusively to our supporters. We rely on the generosity of the community to fulfill our mission of sustaining Raleigh’s architectural inheritance for everyone’s benefit. To become a supporter, and to receive complimentary invitations to future Hidden Gems tours, please make a donation here: https://preservationraleigh.org/support/