The Tower Restoration: Facts and Figures
Take a look at the current progress of the UT Tower restoration.
Visible from nearly every part of The University of Texas at Austin’s campus, the Tower rises toward the sky in limestone. Near its top, gold-rimmed clocks look out from every direction, while the carillon bells mark every quarter hour. On special occasions, the Tower is lit to celebrate academic and athletic accomplishments.
At 89 years old, the Tower is a long-standing symbol of UT and generations of Longhorns. Now, amid the ongoing restoration project, the building is being ushered back to its 1937 appearance, with its colors and architectural details renewed as architect Paul Cret originally intended.
The Tower restoration began in late 2024. Read on to learn more about some of the facts and figures related to this transformational project.
439
Windows have been restored. That’s 40% of the Tower’s nearly 1,000 windows.
54,000
Square feet of the Tower’s granite and limestone masonry have been cleaned and repaired, restoring the building to its original color. That is nearly the size of the football field at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, including both end zones.
114
Regilded alphabet characters on the spandrels located on the lower section of the Tower.
These gold leaf letters are from the ancient Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Phoenician alphabets. The languages were chosen by Dr. William Battle as part of the overall decoration scheme of the building, which situated UT among the great learning institutions of higher education.
2 1/2
The number of days that it takes, on average, for decorative artisan Nancy Morris to regild an alphabet character.
3
Miles, or approximately 16,000 linear feet, of scaffolding already have been built around the Tower. The Tower is enclosed with scaffolding, and the Main Building with a decorative covering, to ensure a safe and efficient restoration process.
22,000
Total linear feet of scaffolding will have been erected in order to fully restore the building. This number equates to just over 4 miles, which is about the distance between the Tower and Barton Springs Pool.
27
Construction trades have been involved with the restoration. These include concrete finishers, roofers, stone masons, window restorers, scaffolding erectors, electricians, painters, ornamental metal fabricators and refinishers, decorative finishes conservators, door and hardware installers, plaster and drywall finishers, and bird-deterrent specialists.
Our Tower. Our Time.
We are embarking on a venture to restore, revitalize and reimagine the most iconic, most beloved landmark on our campus: the UT Tower.
Visit tower.utexas.edu to learn more and to support this once-in-a-lifetime effort.
