BY SARAH ARCHINO, Ph.D., KYLIE FISHER, Ph.D. & STEPHEN MANDRAVALIS, Ph.D.
Art
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As might be expected, the design of Furman’s new campus was a carefully-planned project. Classrooms, dormitories, the library, and dining hall were predictably among the first buildings, welcoming students even before the full relocation from downtown Greenville. Furman’s new campus—in architectural design and technological innovation—was intended to raise the institution’s prestige and appeal at a time of when the American higher education landscape was changing. As administration planned to welcome the first students in Fall 1955, President Plyler boasted in Furman Magazine about “the beautifully planned arrangement of the campus in a setting which will make it second to none in America.”[1] At the same time, there was a keen understanding of how the relocation would disrupt longstanding university traditions and alumni connections.
Over the first ten years, students, alumni, and the university addressed these loses through the relocation or reconstruction of several key symbols from the old campus. But while the recreation of the F block and the relocation of the Doughboy WWI memorial were celebrated, the most prominent and potent relics were the Bell Tower and Old College. Relics carry a religious connotation, but here the term is used to suggest that these tangible connections to Furman’s history were meant to evoke a more profound attachment than would be achieved through mere symbols. Their installation created a unit, referred to as Bell Tower Park, positioned at walkable distance from the center of campus on a scenic peninsula that served as a site of physical engagement, visual contemplation, and institutional branding.[2]
The strategic placement of Furman’s new campus off Poinsett Highway allowed the designers to incorporate cutting-edge technologies. Situated between two water sources—Table Rock and Saluda reservoirs—the new campus was able to integrate a new cooling system that was possible thanks to the nearby water supplies and the constructions of fountains at critical junctures: behind the entrance of the main gate, in front of Duke Library, and nearby the grounds of what would become Daniel Chapel.[3] Working closely with Boston-based architects, Perry, Shaw, Hepburn, and Dean, Plyler Sr. sought to create a new image and brand for Furman that positioned the university on the same footing as other prestigious institutions which underwent recent renovations, including Colby College, Mount Holyoke College, and Wake Forest University.[4] This was especially important at the time, given that Plyler wanted Furman to attract students beyond the local Southern Baptist community.
Yet, Furman’s new campus design did more than elicit comparison to peer colleges/universities, it was intended to invoke the esteem of keeping up historical tradition. The highly manicured lawns and greenery amidst impressive fountains and lake recalled the grandeur of the Palace of Versailles. Moreover, the original and reconstructed Bell Towers were direct echoes of the belvedere towers of Osborne House, the mid-19th-century summer home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert that had quickly inspired the popular Italianate style seen on many American university campuses. Looking even further back, Furman’s Bell Tower could trace a lineage back to the dawn of the Renaissance and Giotto di Bondone’s celebrated Campanile in Florence.
The need for a symbol that would represent the ideals of the institution was made explicit by an editorial from The Hornet in 1958 that proclaimed the need for a “single symbolizing factor that functions both as identification and as a spiritual focal point for its students and alumni […].”[5] The call continued in the following issue, where students argued “This is Furman… and Furman is the Bell Tower,” leading to the construction of a replica “of that wonderful old tower” on the new campus for Homecoming in1958.[6] Throughout the relocation process, alumni were encouraged to celebrate aspects of the old campus by purchasing notecards or Wedgwood commemorative plates that featured an illustration of Old Man and the original Bell Tower.
The prominence of bell towers on other, older campuses, added more layers of significance to this structure: not only was it a specific connection to Furman’s past, but the tower suggested a legacy of international intellectualism and refinement, while also proclaiming the new campus’s aspirations for a more prestigious future.
Despite these lofty ambitions, the first building to be relocated was the much humbler Old College, Furman’s first classroom where James C. Furman and Charles Judson taught side-by-side. Originally constructed in the 1850s, the small, wooden building had transitioned into custodianship of the Quaternion Club around 1920. As such, it was the vehicle for different rituals, including an annual whitewashing that fostered a connection between graduating seniors, alumni, and the institution. So, although it had long ceased to serve as a teaching space, it provided a direct link to an important alumni organization who worked with administration to secure its preservation.[7] Placing Old College on the new campus left a physical trace of Furman’s history that facilitated the transfer of alumni memories.
Just as Old College, steeped in tradition through its association with Furman’s “founding fathers” and the elite Quaternion Club, served as a tangible reminder of the university’s hallowed downtown grounds, the Bell Tower replica had a key role in establishing institutional roots on the new land. Since its construction on the original men’s campus, the Bell Tower symbolized Furman as a great institution. During the Civil War, it was purported that the bells would ring out after Confederate victories.[8] Following this historical precedent, the Bell Tower continued to signal the Furman football triumphs at Sirrine Stadium.[9]
The loss of these experiential spaces was understood as a concern for students and alumni. In 1958, as the old campus was closing, Plyler acknowledged that “Mixed emotions mark our campus shift. The regret of leaving a campus so rich in tradition is exceeded only by keep anticipation of what the new campus will provide in modern facilities for Furman’s expanded program.”[10] This issue of Furman Magazine also included the lengthy section “A Tribute to the Past,” which lamented the loss of the Bell Tower but proclaimed that “the same spirit of scholarship, character development, and education for life which has characterized Furman in the past and which has been symbolized by the Bell Tower, will continue to be the guiding force and strength of the University for [while also] meeting the needs of today and the future with the best in training and facilities.”[11]
Upon the announcement that the Bell Tower would be moved to a “place of prominence” on the lake’s peninsula, the Greenville Piedmont declared that “The tower itself exemplifies all of that, rich in its patina of age, standing as a companion piece to the buildings which mark the growth of a new Furman.”[12]
Even though the Bell Tower was a revered monument on the downtown campus, its age led Furman engineer, Carl Clawson, to determine that the bricks comprising the Bell Tower would not survive the move. Alester G. Furman and his family donated the funds to rebuild the tower. Meticulously measuring each brick inch by inch, Clawson provided exacting specifications so that the Bell Tower could be recreated true to its original form.[13]
A photograph of the construction of the Bell Tower was featured on the back cover of the Autumn 1964 issue of Furman Magazine. Although a new tower, this fidelity to the original helped link the two structures, creating a simulacrum that transferred the connotations and aura from the old campus to the new site. When the original tower was destroyed in a fire in October 1964, the new tower served as an adequate – indeed, quickly beloved – substitution.
With the Bell Tower in place, Old College was relocated to its present location in 1965, creating a central location to reflect and celebrate Furman’s origins and the promises of its new campus. The 1966 yearbook celebrated the pairing “as a symbol of Furman tradition” while with publicity materials that proclaimed “a new campus for a great old university.” Indeed, in their new lakeside location, the two structures retained a similar proximity to one another as they did when they originally stood alongside Richard Furman Hall. Together, these relics provided a visible way to secure the roots of an old university in the wake of a socio-cultural changes on local and national levels.
While our essay has focused on the moving and (re)construction of three of Furman’s relics from its original downtown campuses at the mid-twentieth century, the institutional impulse to continue to populate the new campus with landmarks that are imbued with history, tradition, and longevity is seen through other notable campus sites, such as Cherrydale Alumni House and the Place of Peace.
ENDNOTES
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[1] John L. Plyler, “President’s Column,” Furman Magazine (April 1955).
[2] “Bell Tower Park Being Built,” The Furman Paladin (May 7, 1965).
[3] Planning for Daniel Chapel began in the 1950s under President Plyler. However, lack of fundings prevented the project from being realized until the early 1990s. See “History & Architecture,” Furman University, accessed August 18, 2024, https://www.furman.edu/spiritual-life/daniel-chapel/history-architecture/.
[4] Plyler, Jr. Interview. The firm had also led the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, another project steeped in historical preservation and prestige.
[5] “New Symbol for Furman Must be Chosen in Future,” The Hornet (18 October 1958).
[6] The Hornet, (November 1958).
[7] “Old College to be Preserved,” Furman Magazine (August 1956).
[8] “Tower Bell Was Signal for Southern Victories,” The Hornet (1955).
[9]“Furman Tradition,” The Furman Hornet, May 10, 1944, p. 4, https://cdm16821.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16821coll21/id/23838/rec/21
[10] “President’s Column,” Furman Magazine (August 1958).
[11] “A Tribute to the Past,” Furman Magazine (August 1958).
[12] The Paladin (April 1964) and “Tower to be moved,” Furman Magazine (Summer 1964); Greenville Piedmont account was reprinted in “Tower to be moved”.
[13] Andrea Beam, “History of the Furman Bell Tower,” Greenville360, November 6, 2019, https://greenville360.com/history/furmanbelltower/.
New Campus Move Coincided with White Flight in America
