The Old Main tower peeked over houses and businesses, seen from miles away as people entered Laramie. It welcomed students to the university and promised a spirit of community, education, and learning. The tower greeted new students as they entered Old Main for their first day of classes or as they gathered with friends at the gym. Standing high on top of the building, it quickly became the center of University of Wyoming's Campus.  

​

For almost 30 years, the tower stood high on top of Old Main, ushering in new generations of students. Eventually, the tower began to crack and lean forcing temporary measures to be taken. In 1916, the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees had to make the hard decision of ordering its demolition. The construction and removal of Old Main's tower was completed by summer of 1916.

​

Former students shared their feelings on the removal of the tower, writing poems and columns that would later be printed in the student newspaper, The Wyoming Student. People were sad, sharing the memories that occurred in view of this University of Wyoming focal point. Once a place of gathering and the center of education, it now lives only in memory and in the stories of those who experienced it.

 

The Old Main building still stands as part of University of Wyoming's campus; its tower, however, has never been rebuilt. Stories, such as this one, help to reshape public memory, possibly reminding people of something that they have forgotten. Public memory, and the memory of Old Main's tower, is central to how a society or community defines itself in the present (Goggins, Reshaping Public Memory). The story of Old Main's tower presented here (re)members a part of University of Wyoming's campus that has been lost. The spirit of coming together for education and gathering for each other is one that helps the University function and continue to inspire all learners. 

​

​