Location
|style="padding-right: 1em;" | Between the Student Union and Main Library
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|Namesake
|style="padding-right: 1em;" | John W. Beaumont, class of 1882
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|Architect
|style="padding-right: 1em;" | Donaldson-Meier
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|Number of bells in carillon
|style="padding-right: 1em;" | 49
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|Website
|style="padding-right: 1em;" | [Beaumont Tower Website]
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Beaumont Tower is a structure on the beautiful campus of Michigan State University. The 105 foot tall tower marks the site of College Hall - the first building in America erected for instruction in scientific agriculture.
During its dedication ceremony the president of the university described Beaumont Tower as "a meeting or trysting place of the students, student groups or organizations, the center of all the activities of this institution."
It features "The Sower", an Art Deco base-relief by sculptor Lee Lawrie (1922), with its inscription, "Whatsoever a Man Soweth". This serves as a tribute to MSU's origins as an agricultural college and the seminal nature of knowledge.
Beaumont also houses a full carillon. Free concerts on the lawn are available in the summer. Beaumont Tower is one of the most recognizable and most photographed landmarks on the MSU campus. Its likeness as a line drawing is used on MSU letterhead.
Tradition and Superstition
The most popular traditions surrounding Beaumont Tower involve kissing, either in the shadow of the tower during the day, or at midnight in the Beaumont courtyard, to prove one is a "true Spartan." It is said that a Spartan is destined to marry a sweetheart if they kiss under Beaumont Tower. Additionally, the carillon tower's creepy nighttime appearance has sparked superstitions concerning its "true" or "hidden" purpose. In 2004, the feature-length independent film "The Bells of Beaumont Tower" from [Spartan City Productions] detailed the fictional account of students researching the connection between the tower's construction and a wave of missing undergrads.
