Oakland University dedicated a 151-foot-tall bell tower Friday afternoon, celebrating a new landmark at the center of its campus.
A ceremony for the newly built Elliott Tower was attended by a crowd that included Hugh and Nancy Elliott, who gave $6.5 million for the tower’s design, construction and operation. The couple have contributed to numerous other OU projects, including $2 million toward the School of Business Administration.
OU says the largest bell in the tower — low C — weighs about 5,000 pounds and is 5 feet in diameter. In all, the tower’s 49 bells weigh more than 30,000 pounds.
The tower’s clock is about 9 feet 6 inches in diameter, and its minute hand stretches 54 ¾ inches from the center of the clock to the outside tip.
Oakland University Dedicates New Bell Tower, Detroit News, September 19, 2014