The UT Tower is getting a facelift, but that won't stop it from being doused in burnt orange

The University of Texas at Austin announced Friday that the UT Tower, also known as the Main Building, will undergo a restoration as part of what the school called “a multiyear effort to restore, revitalize and reimagine its historic Tower, an iconic, enduring symbol of the university” in the “first meaningful investment in the Tower since its completion in 1937.”

[Join Inside Texas TODAY and get the BEST Texas Longhorns scoop!]

The school announced the Tower will continue to be lit burnt orange to “celebrate academic accomplishments and athletic victories, including conference and national championships.”

“Our Tower was built as a sign of audacity and a young university’s aspirations for excellence,” UT Austin president Jay Hartzell said in a statement. “Nearly a century later, we have those same characteristics. The Tower represents what is possible for a world-class university that is committed to creating knowledge and teaching tomorrow’s leaders to change the world. Thanks to the vision and support of our Board of Regents, and the generosity of alumni and friends, we are ready to begin realizing the future for our most important University landmark.”

The project is titled “Our Tower: The Next 100 Years.” Restoration efforts will begin in November.

Robert A.M. Stern Architects LLC has been hired to lead the restoration effort. The firm has done similar projects for Michigan, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Yale.

Funding comes from a board of regents investment, the Available University Fund, and a major gifts campaign led by Marcie and Bob Zlotnik. The Zlotniks are co-chairs of the ‘Our Tower: The Next 100 Years’ campaign.

“Bob and I are honored to contribute to such a historic project for the University, which will restore the Tower to its former luster and secure its legacy for future generations of Longhorns,” said Marcie Zlotnik in a statement. “The Tower holds such a special place in our hearts, and through the very earliest phase of this effort, we have relished connecting with many of the University’s friends and supporters to reignite our collective love for it.”

Construction on the symbol that has served as a north star for thousands of Texas students and Longhorn fans began in 1934 and was completed in 1937. The 307-foot tall building was designed to hold university offices plus library stacks. It has reading rooms, including the Life Sciences Library, which are in use to this day.

The limestone building is adorned with four gold leaf gilded clock faces, the 56-bell Kniker Carillon, and the Egyptian, Phoenician, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin alphabets.

The Tower was first illuminated on October 19, 1937.

Tower lighting guidelines were created in 1947 and have updated several times since then. Athletic achievements such as football victories see the top of the Tower illuminated in burnt orange. Wins over Texas A&M or conference athletic titles see the whole tower lit in burnt orange. National championships see the tower illuminated in burnt orange with the No. 1 created by lighting in the windows.

Other athletic and academic achievements can light the tower orange. It is also lit at the discretion of the UT president.

The Tower has been part of joyous occasions like athletic achievements, commencements, and countless proposals. It has also been the site of one of the worst mass shootings in United States history. Charles Whitman climbed the tower in 1966 and killed 17 before he was killed by law enforcement.

It’s currently the home of a peregrine falcon named “Tower Girl” who has made her home at the top of the Tower for over a decade and has become a popular online figure for students, Austinites, and Texans alike.

A few weeks ago at his State of the University address, Hartzell joked that graduating seniors should get their pictures in front of the building as soon as possible before scaffolding goes up.

[Subscribe to the Inside Texas YouTube channel and help get us to 10,000 subs!]

Even with improvements on the way, Texas fans will be able to see celebrations of victories for Longhorn football and other sports, plus academic achievements throughout the process of refurbishing the landmark associated with the University of Texas at Austin.