Miller, John E. (1993, Winter). The South Dakota State University Campanile: building a sense of place. South Dakota History, 23, 321-345.

***Briggs Library Call Number: 978.305 SO86***

John Miller, Professor of History at South Dakota State University, presents an excellent review of the early history and significance of Coughlin Campanile.

***Excerpts from the text of this article are presented below.***

"During 1927, President Pugsley began to think seriously about finding an alumni donor for a campanile to be located near the sylvan theatre and the campus gateway. He talked to Robert E. Perkins of Perkins and McWayne, who sketched preliminary plans for a 170-foot-high tower." (page 325)

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"No doubt operating on instructions from the president, Professor Mathews suggested the bell-tower idea to 1909 graduate Charles L. Coughlin ... in early 1928. Coughlin, who was treasurer and general manager of Milwaukee's Briggs-Stratton Company, had been an electrical engineering student under Mathews two decades earlier." (page 325)

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"Given the choice of a 167-foot structure or one thirty feet shorter, Coughlin opted in February 1929 for the taller one..." (page 327)

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"Specifications called for the first twenty-four feet of the tower to consist of Bedford limestone." (page 328)

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"The next ninety-eight feet would be constructed of red brick, with two casement windows on two sides and three windows on the remaining sides. Casements doors would open out onto iron-and-stone balconies on all four faces at the top of the brick section. Above the tower's main portion would be a thirty-seven-foot chime tower on Bedford stone, decorated in a classical motif, with each side featuring four Ionic columns similar to those on the Lincoln Library." (page 328)

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"Capping the tower would be an eight-foot copper crown with leaded-glass openings enclosing an airplane beacon. Along with the tower's height, which reportedly made it the tallest man-made structure in the state at the time, the eight-million-candlepower revolving light was its most widely publicized feature." (page 328)

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"On 2 April 1929, the Wold-Mark Construction company of Brookings won the contract with a low bid of $50,679." (page 328)

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"An Aberdeen firm won the electrical contract with a low bid of $3,794." (page 328)

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"The eventual cost of the tower and landscaping plus the eighteen tubular chimes (which alone cost $13,500) came to approximately seventy-five thousand dollars." (page 329)

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"At the groundbreaking on 15 April, Professor Mathews appropriately received the honor of turning over the first shovelful of earth." (page 330)

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"On 10 June, immediately after graduation exercises in the sylvan theatre, dignitaries conducted the cornerstone-laying ceremonies." (page 330)

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"Among the items placed in the cornerstone were a college catalogue, copies of the Industrial Collegian, a description of the tower, a story about commencement, and biographical information about the donor." (page 331)

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"By 15 December, when the college sponsored a chimes concert to satisfy the curious and to solicit judgment from the experts, everything was in place. F.B. Little, chief engineer for the chimes manufacturer, the Deagan Company of Chicago, had personally supervised their installation and directed the program." (page 331)

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"When the tower opened in March 1930 for public inspection, many people took advantage of the opportunity to ascend its 180 steps and take in the view. " (page 331)

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"Formal dedication occurred on commencement day, 13 June 1930." (page 332)

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"Charles Coughlin returned to Brookings to participate in the ceremonies..." (page 333)

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"In addition, "Old Faithful," a bell that had been purchased for the college in 1885, sounded from its new perch atop the campanile during the march of faculty and graduating seniors from the Administration Building to the Coolidge Sylvan Theatre." (page 333-334)

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"In 1925, after four decades of use, the 650-pound bell had been removed from its shaky support in the tower of Old Central and stored away." (page 334)

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"In reality, there was no practical reason for building such a tower; its actual purpose was ornamental and symbolic." (page 335)

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"The purpose of chimes towers, wherever they were built, was to impress people with their magnificence, to memorialize some individual or group, or to symbolize the institution." (page 335)

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"...one has to assume that the structure was partly intended to be a monument to a man - Charles L. Coughlin." (page 336-337)

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"If the Campanile provided a tribute to its donor, even more clearly it symbolized South Dakota State College. From the beginning, it has served as the emblem of the institution..." (page 337)

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"To some degree, the structure has become a symbol of South Dakota, emblazoned on postcards, decorative plates, and other items. Next to mount Rushmore and Mitchell's Corn Palace, the campanile may rank as the third most recognizable man-made structure in the state." (page 337)