There are four gargoyles atop the bell tower on University Hall. Rumor has it that these four gargoyles, plus the other gargoyles placed on the building, ward off evil spirits from coming on campus.
As I stepped onto the first of many steps on the spiral staircase leading up to the top of the bell tower, I hoped the gargoyles were doing their job and would keep me safe from harm as my fear of heights began to affect me.
The 76-year-old bell tower is 205 feet tall, according to Mark Yeary, assistant director of technology support in the Department of Distance Learning and keeper of the UT bell tower.
Finished in 1931, U-Hall and the bell tower were built by a mere 400 workers using wheel barrows and donkeys to haul the lannon stone - the light-colored stone all of the buildings on campus are covered with - in 11 months, Yeary said.
Henry Doermann, former UT president, oversaw the $2 million (about $35 million today) building process, according to university archives.
Seventy-six years is a long time for a metal staircase to sit there rusting was my first thought. I went up the stairs, anyway.
There are two landings before you reach the top of the tower. One of the landings holds the mechanism for the four clock faces, which have had a few problems over the years.
According to Yeary, the mechanism to control the clocks has had issues with non-working parts or student tampering.
The hands for the clocks also needed replacing because the first ones were hard to see until a UT professor helped to fix the problem, Yeary said. Each of the clocks' hands is taller than my 5'3" height.
The clocks don't currently work, though, Yeary said. Someone must have accidentally moved a gear while the bell tower was renovated late last year.
A walk up the last two sections of spiral staircase could leave you breathless at the sight waiting atop the bell tower. According to Yeary, on a clear day not only can the little dots of moving people on campus be seen from atop the tower, but the entire city of Toledo and more can be seen as well.
The bell tower wasn't originally planned to be parallel with Bancroft Street, though, Yeary said.
The tower was supposed to be turned slightly, with the four corners of the bell tower where the sides of the bell tower are now, he said.
A remnant from WXUT's past also lies at UT's highest point; the old radio antenna for UT's student radio station is situated on the top of the bell tower.
Just as my nerves began to unwind, Yeary said the worst words of the trip: "OK, let's go down now." It was not something I wanted to hear.
Walking down the staircase was hard enough with my fear of heights, but what made it harder was when the tower decided to announce the hour - my heart about exploded.
Giant speakers, that are part of the carillon system, rang throughout the tower.
A carillon is an electronic system that plays digital versions of the chime and bell sounds. UT bought a new carillon system in June 2006 for $31,600 to replace its previous system when it began to "hiccup," according to the July 10, 2006 edition of The Independent Collegian.
Walking the rest of the way down the tower proved uneventful (to my relief); however, Yeary said that students have tried to get into the bell tower before and some have proved successful.
Nevertheless, the door is safely guarded today to prevent students from entering the area because parts of the tower are unsafe, he said.
I was just happy to be back on solid floor without a rusty, spiral staircase in sight. It does look like those gargoyles did their job after all, though - I made it all the way up and down the bell tower without a scratch.
