With the help of a crane, construction workers remove the face of one of Gasson Hall’s two clocks from the front of its tower on May 23 as part of a major restoration of Boston College’s signature building.
The repair of the clocks is part of a larger refurbishment of the 94-year-old building, a project that began on April 17. The first phase of construction will focus mainly on Gasson’s bell tower. Crews will replace virtually all of the building’s cast exterior with new stone that will replicate the look of the original masonry. Workers will also replace or restore the tower’s four spires, landings, windows, and various decorative elements. The project, which will intermittently silence Gasson’s bells, may last as long as 18 months.
“This is a building with a lot of emotional attachment to it,” says project manager Jacob Mycofsky. “People love Gasson, it’s the focal point of the University, and we’re going to bring her back.”
Opened in 1913, the Gothic-style Gasson Hall was Boston College’s first building on the Chestnut Hill Campus. The University’s best-known structure, it has also been called the Recitation Building and the Tower Building.