The construction of McGraw Tower was completed July 30 welcoming students back to campus with a scaffold-free clock tower. The construction, which started in July 2023 and was initially projected to finish in November 2024, was delayed until the following summer, concealing the tower for two years.
While the University first claimed the scaffolding would be removed by the Class of 2025’s commencement weekend, the statement was quickly rescinded and revised to explain that poor weather conditions would prevent the construction from being completed in time.
In an email statement sent to The Sun this past summer, Andrew Magre ’91, associate vice president for engineering and project administration, explained the process of the clock tower being renovated.
“The installation of the lead roof took a high level of craft[s]manship, took time, and had to be a hundred percent perfect given the limited access to the roof when the scaffolding is removed,” Magre wrote.
For Claudia Slivovsky ’25, the delay in construction became a major disappointment as commencement weekend approached.
“When they first said that it would be done by graduation, I tried to plan my graduation photos to be as late as possible to get the clock tower in my photos,” said Slivovsky. “Then they announced it wouldn’t be done, and it was frustrating because I wanted to recreate pictures from when I first moved in that involved the clock tower.”
To Slivovsky, the clocktower was one of the most impressive things she saw on her tours, both as a student and as a tour guide during her undergraduate years.
“I was in awe when I first saw the clock tower when I was a freshman,” said Slivovsky. “It’s one of my favorite places on campus and I hope freshmen and sophomores also get to experience it.”
For some underclassmen, this semester is the first time they have seen the tower without the scaffold. Ethan Pereira ’29 shared that his first impression of the clock tower during a campus tour was very underwhelming.
“One of the things about Cornell is that it’s supposed to have a beautiful campus, but it was kind of gross to see the scaffold up [close],” said Pereira. “I didn’t notice the scaffold removed when I moved in, but my friend pointed it out and it was interesting to see the construction done.”
Similarly, Mini Ge ’28 expressed her initial surprise at the completion of the clock tower and the removal of the scaffold over the summer, given the University’s statements on the delayed completion of the renovation.
“I was in Ithaca over the summer when the scaffold came off, and I was shocked because [the tower] was so pretty,” said Ge. “Campus looked so different with the clock tower raised up, but I was curious as to what changes they made during construction.”
Curiosity towards the renovations made were also shared by Ana Hoffman Sole ’26. Hoffman Sole recalled the summer the scaffold went on, explaining how she didn’t expect the construction to last so long for so little visible change.
“I was here when the scaffolding went up, during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, and suddenly we couldn’t walk through the major walkway,” said Hoffman Sole. “I took a selfie the day the scaffold went down to send to my friends who weren’t here yet, but genuinely, the tower looks exactly the same as it did before.”
Both Hoffman Sole and Ge expressed excitement for the scaffold-free tower, as well as the reopening of the path to Ho Plaza. However, Slivovsky still expressed disapproval of the University’s response to the delays for construction, despite relief that the construction was over
“One thing I would’ve appreciated was a little bit more transparency,” said Slivovsky. “Nobody really knew what they were doing for a while, but I’m just excited to see the tower without the scaffold again.”
Ashley Lee is a member of the Class of 2028 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at alee@cornellsun.com.
