#KnowTheO: Henningson Memorial Campanile

The Henningson Memorial Campanile is a visible part of the Omaha skyline and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) campus. The 16-story tower stands at 168 feet and contains 47 bronze bells, weighing a combined 12.5 tons.

UNO broke ground for the tower’s foundation in May of 1988, and it was completed in 1989 thanks to a donation from Margre Henningson-Durham, who with her husband Charles W. Durham were significant donors to the Durham Science Center. The campanile’s construction is in memory of Margre’s parents, Henning and Rose Henningson, and sister, Helen Henningson-Grimes.

A Campus Icon

The Henningson Memorial Campanile has stood, quite literally, at the center of the UNO campus and has come to provide a central icon that the campus can use to identify itself to not only the Omaha community but to the rest of the country, and even the rest of the world.

But, in a more practical sense, the campanile has provided students with an excelling time-telling device, a source of familiar tunes (like the theme to the “Harry Potter” films), and even a home for those loveable bats that always circle the clock tower after dusk as this April Fools edition of the Gateway can attest to.

Regardless of whether its benefits are practical or symbolic, UNO’s campanile, though young, is an integral part of the university.

47 Bronze Bells

The Henningson Memorial Campanile contains 47 bronze bells, weighing a combined 24,468 lbs. (nearly 12.5 tons). The largest bell weighs in at 4,397 lbs., is 5 ft. in diameter and 4 ft. tall, its pitch is a C. Each bell contains an inscription from the members of the Henningson Family.

In Loving Memory

UNO broke ground for the tower’s foundation in May of 1988, and it was completed in 1989 thanks to a donation from Margre Henningson-Durham, who with her husband Charles W. Durham were significant donors for the Durham Science Center. The campanile’s construction is in memory of Margre’s parents, Henning and Rose Henningson, and sister, Helen Henningson-Grimes.