TECH TOWER THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE LANDMARK OF THE INSTITUTE, Tech Tower has soared over the center of campus—with much thanks to the hill from which it’s perched— since its completion in 1888, making it Georgia Tech’s oldest building. Originally constructed as the Administration Building, the tower itself rises three floors above
the main structure, which houses four floors and a basement. It’s made of red brick, trimmed with granite, and sports a gabled, copper-shingle roof (originally terra cotta). The letters that spell out T-E-C-H on each side of the top of the tower, installed by Tech’s class of 1922, provided the edifice with its nickname. Light bulbs were added
to the letters in the 1930s. Today, Tech Tower is officially known as the Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Administration Building, named after one of the Institute’s most generous benefactors. The building currently houses the Registrar’s Office, the College of Engineering Dean’s Office and the College of Sciences Dean’s Office, among others.
THE TOWER WAS BUILT in the Victorian style with Romanesque Revival features.
THE KESSLER CAMPANILE, a stainless steel plate sculpture created for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and located next to the student center, was designed to look like a modernized version of Tech Tower.
TECH TOWER’S “Ts” have been stolen numerous times over the years, the first time in April 1969. Due to concerns for student safety, the Institute has implemented heightened security measures and strict punishment to prevent future theft.
THOUGH NEITHER SHE NOR HER HUSBANDS ATTENDED TECH, Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans gave $340 million to the Institute over her lifetime.
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U.S. PRESIDENT TEDDY ROOSEVELT gave a speech on the steps of Tech Tower when he visited campus in October 1905.