Von KleinSmid Center Tower at Night

The 167-foot Von KleinSmid Center (VKC) Tower contains a carillon and supports this globe-shaped finial.  The globe was added in 1966 based on a proposal by Tony Lazzaro, USC's Associate Business Manager and Director of Campus Development at the time, who had seen a similar metal orb on one of the buildings at the 1964 World's Fair.

The carillon is electronically operated using special cassettes and a computer console located inside the VKC Library (at the base of the tower).  Sounds are amplified by a magnetic mallet that strikes the instrument's alloy bars and are released through speakers at the top of the tower. The carillon was made by the Maas-Rowe Company of Escondido, CA.  It was installed in the tower shortly after the building's dedication in 1967 as a gift from the Trojan League, a support group of USC alumnae.  (Photographed 19 January 2011.)