Hoover Tower

Hoover Tower is a 285 feet (87 m) structure on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. The tower is part of the Hoover Institution, a research center founded by then-future U.S. president Herbert Hoover. Hoover Tower, inspired by the cathedral tower at Salamanca, was finished in 1941, the year of Stanford's 50th anniversary. It was designed by architect Arthur Brown, Jr.

The tower has a carillon of 48 bells cast in Belgium, and the general public is not allowed at the top of the tower when the bells ring. The largest bell weighs in at 2.5 tons. The first nine floors of the tower are library stacks and the next three floors are used for offices. Exiled Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn lived on the 11th floor for some time upon invitation by Stanford University before he moved in 1976.

From the Hoover Tower one can see all of Stanford campus. Pictured is the Main Quad and Serra Street.

Hoover Tower receives approximately 200 visitors per day, and a nominal fee is charged for non-students or non-faculty. The observation deck platform is 250 feet (76 m) above the ground, and provides an expansive view of the Stanford University campus and surrounding area. On clear days it is even possible to see all the way to the distant skyline of San Francisco. The tower's observation deck is open daily from 10 am to 4:00 pm, but closed during academic breaks and finals.

External links

• Hoover Tower : Stanford University