| Help
Us Preserve Our Beautiful Tower !
Please Donate One More Time to the Tower Repair Fund |
Update
concerning Tower and Clock repairs as
of November 23, 2007:
Once again looking up Erie Avenue from
Hyde Park Square at night one can easily
see the lofty Tower beaming brightly in
the darkness!
It took 11 months and a cost of $51,782
to replace the clock mechanisms and facings,
repair the Tower roof and drainage system,
and replace the electrical system. Contributions
of over $45,000 have been received specifically
for these repairs.
We are still faced with the need
to scrape, prime, and paint the 90 step
metal staircase within the Tower. The
projected cost for this remaining work
is $6,900.
Your continued support of this project
is deeply appreciated.
| How many
times have you paused over the years
to appreciate the beautiful tower
in front of Withrow? Can you imagine
the school without the tower's clock
showing you the time just over the
bridge? Don't we always want to
be able to "....glimpse
once more the Tower 'gainst the
sky" as we sing in our
Alma Mater? |
||
| In August of this
year glass began to fall from the
Tower. An inspection revealed that
internal deterioration had reached
the point where complete replacement
of tower internals was the only
alternative. The stairs inside the
tower and their supports also need
significant repair to keep them
safely usable. Repairs had been
made routinely to the tower, its
clock, the stairs, and the four
clock faces over many years, but
the wear of the years have finally
caught up to our lovely clock tower. |
||
The Alumni Association Board met quickly and voted to draw funds from our operating budget to arrange for the repairs on an emergency basis (see Cincinnati Enquirer article below). These funds need to be replaced, however, in order for us to continue our important work at Withrow. Jack Cover, Withrow Alumni Association president, expressed the sentiments of many alumni when he told the Enquirer: "We want to encourage and support making school a wonderful experience. If you improve facilities and grounds, it's something kids can be proud of."
|
||
| Will you please help? Please send your donation to: | ||
| Withrow
Tower Repair Fund Withrow Alumni Incorporated P.O. Box 8186 Cincinnati, Ohio 45208 |
||
PICTURES
OF TOWER CONDITION IN AUGUST, 2006. |
Please click any picture below to see it larger. Then click the "BACK" button to return here.
> |
 |
Inside of Withrow Tower
in August, 2006. |
An example of a similar
clock tower after repair by the
Verdin Company. |
Article from the
Cincinnati Enquirer September 26, 2006
Withrow
set to renovate landmark clock tower
Alumni contribute $35,000
for repairs
BY JENNIFER MROZOWSKI | ENQUIRER STAFF
WRITER
When people see the soaring brick clock
tower next to the Georgian Revival-style
school on Madison Road in Hyde Park, many
wonder whether if it's part of a college
campus or prestigious private school.
But the tower actually is the centerpiece
landmark of one of the city's oldest public
high schools - Withrow High School.
Recently, the clock has fallen into disrepair
and has become a safety hazard because
of broken glass, so the Withrow alumni
association decided to give it a much-needed
face-lift at a cost of about $35,000.
Alumni group members said they want students
to feel the pride in their school that
they did during Withrow's heyday, and
well-kept grounds are part of that. The
organization also helps support programs
such as band, the school newspaper, sports
and the college and career center. It
also restored the arched bridge in front
of the school.
"There is such a love of the school
in terms of the experiences we had,"
said Jack Cover, president of the Withrow
Alumni Inc., recalling the days of the
Withrow Minstrels' talent shows and the
well-attended drama club. "We try
to raise money to offer an opportunity
for kids to have similar experiences that
we had in school."
The school was completed in 1919. The
bell tower, modeled after New England
church steeples, originally did not contain
clocks. They were installed soon after,
Cover said.
While the clock has undergone repairs,
it was discovered a restoration was needed.
The glass was broken, some parts had rusted
and the gears were stripped.
In July, the alumni board's 27 members
voted unanimously to repair the clock.
It will receive new hands, 7-foot dials
and an electronic system to keep time,
minimizing the need for custodians to
climb the tower for repairs or time changes.
The clock also will be outfitted with
new glass.
The restoration, expected in November,
will be done by the Verdin Co., the bell
manufacturer that created the World Peace
Bell in Newport.
"We want to encourage and support
making school a wonderful experience,"
Cover said. "If you improve facilities
and grounds, it's something kids can be
proud of."
Michael Burson, the district's director
of facilities, said the assistance from
the alumni group is welcome. Withrow High
is undergoing a $38 million renovation
as part of the district's nearly $1 billion
construction project, but the clocks are
not a top priority.
"In terms of what we typically do
with maintenance, maintaining a decorative
clock is not something we can take on,"
Burson said. "It's great to have
such a partnership with the alumni association."
Cover said money is still being raised
for the restoration.
E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com
Article published in the Withrow Tower News from the Withrow Alumni Association, Fall, 2006
Tower Preservation
Campaign Under Way
Why Preserve a Tower?
As you pass the Withrow tower these days, what feelings do you have? Do you remember a friend or teacher who made a lasting impression on your life? Do you recall a terrific football game, school dance, or after-school club you attended? Have your friends mistaken the beautiful school grounds for a college? The tower reminds us of all of us these and serves as a landmark to our community, as well.
The Withrow tower serves as something more than a symbol of our school, though. How many buildings can you think of that have insightful inscriptions on them, too? When our school founders decided to carve these inscriptions in concrete, they marked Withrow as a special place with the power to encourage and inspire people for many generations to come.
Do you remember the tower inscriptions? There are three, and they read as follows:
First there is the inscription that reminds
us of the purpose of our school:
“All who will may enter and find
within these walls equal and varied opportunity
for a liberal education, based alike upon
art and industry, with books and things,
work and study combined, and where good
health, the spirit of play, and joy in
work well done shall abound.”
Then the school founders suggest the
secret to a happy life by inscribing:
“If you want knowledge, you must
toil for it; and if good, you must toil
for it; and if you want pleasure, you
must toil for it. Toil is law. Pleasure
comes from toil, and not from self-indulgence
and indolence. When one gets to love his
work, his life is a happy one.”
And finally, the tower holds a caution
to seek not just knowledge, but wisdom:
“So teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
These are traditions and sentiments worth preserving. They provide direction and comfort to all who know them. Shouldn’t this continue to be available to present and future students and faculty, and you and your family as well?
You can help preserve our tower and this special place.
Even if it’s just
$5, please send in your donation soon
to keep this important symbol standing
in excellent condition. And encourage
your friends and neighbors to do the same.
Donations may be sent to:
Withrow Tower Repair Fund
Withrow Alumni Incorporated
P.O. 8186
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
You can monitor our progress and see pictures
of our tower repairs by visiting our website
at http://www.WithrowAlumni.com or phoning
us at (513) 363-9085.
Page last updated November 23, 2007
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