LSU’s iconic landmark, Memorial Tower, is getting a face-lift.
Workers have erected fencing around Memorial Tower, and walking near the tower or through the tower plaza is now a thing of the past and will be for the next several semesters. A construction crew will be obscuring the view of the tower with scaffolding up the entire length of the tower as early as next week.
Memorial Tower is among the most famous and enduring landmarks on the University’s campus, along with Tiger Stadium and Mike’s Habitat. Yet, in the course of its long history, Memorial Tower has never been restored or renovated in any major way since it was first built 95 years ago.
Roger Husser, LSU Assistant Vice President of Planning, Design and Construction, detailed how desperately the renovation is needed. The exterior of the tower has general wear and tear, like cracks, but over time, moisture can cause more serious structural damage to the tower if nothing is done, Husser said.
Over the next couple of years, Cangelosi-Ward Construction will be renovating the tower by refurbishing the exterior, waterproofing the walls and replacing the windows and interior walls with newer and more energy-efficient versions.
The goal of the project is not to change the look of the building as it was originally designed, but rather to refresh the look of the tower as a whole.
“It’s like restoring that ‘57 Chevy,” Husser said. “The idea is to bring it back to what it looked like before, but it will look new again.”
Upon completing the restoration, there will be an array of powerful lights that will illuminate the tower at night.
The University is trying not to limit the current Memorial Tower project to a restoration. According to Sara Whittaker, Senior Director of Communications for the LSU Foundation, the full Memorial Tower project includes a complete redesign and restoration of the plaza surrounding the tower and the conversion of the interior into a military museum.
After the tower restoration is finished, the University proposes to begin restoring the plaza on the north, south and east sides, which has been showing similar signs of wear and tear as the tower. There would also be some design changes to plaza to make it more accessible to the disabled.
The west side of the plaza, which is the side closest to Middleton Library, would change the most drastically. The University is proposing to extend the plaza to provide more event space on campus.
The University dedicated the Memorial Tower in 1926 to Louisianians who had died in the first World War. Because of the University’s rich military history, there are many people on campus, like the Cadets of the Ole War Skule, who hope to turn the interior of the tower into a military museum.
“It is a special testament to our spirit of community that, nearly 160 years after our founding, supporters are committed to upholding and celebrating our military tradition,” Whittaker said.
The new change would have the tower and its new museum honor all the LSU faculty, staff and students’ involvement in American wars.
Upon completion of this museum, the tower will be open to the general public to view uniforms, battle plans, war photos, maps, medals and more, ranging from Gen. Troy H Middleton to the common student who fought in the Iraq War.
As of now, the first part of the project, the general restoration and renovation of the tower, is fully funded and underway, but the plaza redesign and military museum will only begin when all funding is secured. Whittaker said they are more than 90 percent of the way to the fundraising goal.
The University expects to finish the tower restoration by fall 2020, so the blockades and scaffolding will be up for the foreseeable future, and if the other two parts of the project are funded, the barriers could remain for several more months after.
“[The tower] represents an icon to LSU,” said Paul Favaloro, Director of Capital Project Management and Development. “Having it restored brings it back to its splendor, and lets it be something we can preserve for the next [95] years.”