Mueller Tower

In the mid-1940s, Ralph S. Mueller, an 1898 alumnus of the University of Nebraska and the founder of the Cleveland-based Mueller Electric Company, expressed his desire to give a gift to the school that incorporated electronics. Chancellor Reuben G. Gustavson suggested a new bell tower, which NU had lacked since University Hall was demolished in 1925. Mueller agreed and donated $90,000 () to the project, which would incorporate finely tuned electric rods instead of a traditional array of bells. Restorations The bell tower was cordoned off in 2006 as the limestone began to collapse and the university lacked funding to restore it. By then, it had become "one of the most recognizable structures on campus," and officials vowed to restore it shortly. As part of the restoration, each of the tower's 1,700 stones were scanned and catalogued, identifying seventy-eight to be fully replaced. ==Use==

The tower's music, initially played by keyboard, is now broadcast by eight speakers which play taped recordings or live music. As late as 1985, a student played the keyboard prior to football games at the top of the tower. For prerecorded music, an Embassy Digital Autobell Carillon machine is used. The system broadcasts music selected randomly from a predetermined list of approximately fifty songs at the top of the hour and at twenty-three minutes past the hour. ==References==