text: tech tower the lettie pate whitehead evans administration building , commonly known as tech tower , is a historic building and focal point of the central campus of the georgia institute of technology ( georgia tech ) in atlanta , georgia , us . located at 225 north avenue nw in midtown atlanta , it was erected in 1888 as the academic building , with classrooms to complement the hands - on training in the adjacent shop building . it was the second edifice completed on the georgia tech campus and it is the oldest surviving one . tech tower has achieved local , cultural , and historical significance . monuments and plaques commemorating philanthropy towards georgia tech adorn the building and surrounding landscape . the red brick , victorian - style building is the architectural anchor of the georgia institute of technology historic district , a landmark of tradition and school spirit , and the present - day administrative hub of the institute . it has been the site of many ceremonies and important events , including a visit by u.s. president theodore roosevelt and its dedication in honor of lettie pate whitehead evans , " tech 's greatest benefactor . " lighted signs spelling tech hang on each of the four sides of the seven - story central tower , dominating the building 's facade and visible from many parts of the georgia tech campus and surrounding area . georgia tech students have several times stolen the letter ' t ' from one of these signs , a prank once tolerated but now strictly forbidden . history in 1887 , the state of georgia acquired 9 acres ( 3 . 6 ha ) of land from atlanta pioneer richard peters that would form the original campus of what was then called the georgia school of technology , as well as the site of its first two structures . the state hired the well - known architectural firm bruce & morgan to design an academic building , containing " ample accommodations in halls , offices , apparatus rooms , recitation and lecture rooms , free hand and mechanical drawing rooms , library and chapel , " as well as a shop building , in which " boiler and engine rooms , wood shop , machine shop , forge room and foundry " were located . both buildings boasted towers and edifices of similar design . the complementary names and purposes of these buildings reflected the school 's founding principles of valuing both theory and practice , while their similar appearance emphasized the equal standing of these principles . construction work , contracted by angus mcgilvray with his low bid of us $ 43 , 250 ( $ 1 . 14 million in 2016 ) , began with the academic building in june 1887 ; the building was completed in september 1888 . the shop building , completed shortly afterward , was destroyed by fire in 1892 and rebuilt more modestly without a tower . following this , the academic building , later known as tech tower , became the oldest building on the georgia tech campus , a distinction it continues to hold more than a century later . on october 20 , 1905 , u.s. president theodore roosevelt visited the georgia tech campus . on the steps of tech tower , roosevelt presented a speech about the importance of engineering education . he then shook hands with each of the 500 students present . georgia tech 's class of 1922 installed the famous tech signs on all four sides of tech tower in 1918 , giving rise to the building 's present nickname . their purpose , as defined by the donors during their first year at georgia tech , was to " light the spirit of tech to the four points of the compass . " the signs were originally made of wood and painted white and gold – the institute colors . in the 1930s , lightbulbs were affixed to the signs to illuminate them more effectively than the earlier ground - based spotlights . in 1949 , the tech signs were supplemented by neon lighting in metal frames . in 1978 , tech tower and the surrounding 9 acres ( 3 . 6 ha ) of the original campus were added to the national register of historic places as the georgia institute of technology historic district . near the entrance to tech tower , a historical marker maintained by the georgia historical society commemorates this listing as well as the early history of the georgia tech campus . on may 22 , 1998 , tech tower was officially renamed the lettie pate whitehead evans administration building in a ceremony presided over by tech president g. wayne clough . although neither she nor her husbands attended georgia tech as a student , lettie pate whitehead evans was a longtime benefactor of the institute , contributing over $ 340 million through her philanthropic organization , the lettie pate evans foundation . tech tower 's continuous use since its completion in 1888 has required occasional maintenance and refurbishment . it underwent extensive renovations in 1965 with a focus on remodeling the building 's interior layout . during this time , the library and chapel were replaced with modern office space and furnishings . in contrast , efforts directed towards the exterior of the building have aimed to preserve its historic appearance . a restoration project called the " tech tower renovation " began in 1987 , spearheaded by alumnus eugene m. " gene " clary 's gift of new copper shingles with which to replace tech tower 's aging roof tiles . clary first suggested gold - colored shingles , but john patrick crecine , georgia tech 's president at the time , insisted on copper shingles to match the building 's original construction materials . one of these shingles and a small marker inside the tech tower entrance lobby commemorate clary and his donation . additional restoration of tech tower 's exterior and the georgia institute of technology historic district , funded by the class of 1950 and class of 1975 , began in 2000 . as part of phase i of the georgia tech master plan of 1997 , the area was made " more pedestrian - friendly " with the removal of access roads and the addition of landscaping improvements , benches , and other facilities . structure and appearance tech tower is built in the victorian style with romanesque revival influences . the building 's original specifications , according to georgia tech 's first annual catalogue announcement published in 1889 , are listed as 130 feet ( 40 m ) wide and 120 feet ( 37 m ) deep . it is constructed primarily of red brick and trimmed with granite . the gabled roof , originally terra cotta , was later replaced by copper shingles . the main complex of the building stands four stories high plus a basement . the tower portion stands seven stories high and is topped with four lighted tech signs ( one on each side ) and a high pitched roof . the main entrance to the building is accessed by ascending a small staircase and entering a small porch which forms the base of tech tower . most of the building 's windows are simple rectangular frames , with the exception of those on the third floor , which are arched . the entire complex sits on the crest of a tree - dotted hill , giving it the appearance of being larger than it actually is . surroundings as the oldest building on the georgia tech campus , tech tower has accumulated a number of peripheral monuments and sites of interest over the years . two walkways encircle the building , including the tower walk , donated by the class of 1950 in 2000 . georgia tech 's first class memorial , a marble drinking fountain , was donated in 1911 by the class of 1903 and is situated east of tech tower 's main entrance . also near the main entrance to tech tower is a marbled pair of benches donated by the class of 1925 in memory of those who died in world war i. a few feet away stands a marbled bench memorial to paul howes norcross , a 1902 georgia tech alumnus and former asce president who perished in the norman boat disaster of may 8 , 1925 . the headstone of sideways the dog is located near tech tower 's rear entrance , as is an informational placard detailing tech tower 's early history , donated by the class of 1932 . a staircase donated by the anak society in 1921 connects tech tower to the adjacent d. p. savant building via a continuous sidewalk . finally , a steam - driven air compressor , colloquially known as the " steam engine , " sits prominently at the top of the hill near tech tower as a reminder of the school 's industrial roots . modern use as its official name suggests , tech tower is primarily used for administrative purposes . it houses the office of the registrar , the office of capital planning and space management ( ) , the internal auditing department , and offices for the center for the enhancement of teaching and learning ( cetl ) . in addition , the deans of the college of engineering and the college of sciences have offices in tech tower . tech tower is considered an iconic representation of georgia tech and of higher education in atlanta . it is often featured in marketing materials and merchandise for the institute and its silhouette is recognized throughout the atlanta metropolitan area . the tower , georgia tech 's undergraduate research journal , is named after tech tower . kessler campanile , a stylized bell tower built on the georgia tech campus as part of an institute - wide branding campaign in the mid - 1990s , was designed to look like a modernized version of tech tower . the campanile is now featured in all georgia tech logos , though some have argued that tech tower itself would be a more appropriate symbol . stealing the ' t ' students have stolen the huge , symbolic letter ' t ' on the tech tower 's tech signs a number of times . the ' t ' is then returned at the halftime of the homecoming football game , and the students ' achievement celebrated . tradition dictates that the first ' t ' to be stolen should be the one facing east , as this can most easily be seen from the downtown connector . the groups of students responsible for ' t ' thefts generally assume dramatic pseudonyms , such as the " mystic marauders " or the " sneaky four . " pervasive rumors of a detailed plan held in the institute 's archives to execute " the perfect t theft , " crafted by an unnamed georgia tech fraternity , are apparently spurious . notable thefts the ' t ' was first stolen in april 1969 by a secret group of georgia tech fraternity brothers calling themselves the " magnificent seven " . inspired by a similar prank that had taken place in 1968 at harvard university , the students planned the theft as a means of commemorating institute president edwin d. harrison 's retirement . the ' t ' was returned several days later via helicopter at the behest of atlanta mayor ivan allen . on the evening of november 6 , 1997 , the ' t 's were nearly stolen from the north , south and west sides of tech tower by five students wielding hacksaws , tin snips , and rappelling equipment . the students were caught by georgia tech police acting on a tip provided by an anonymous informant . the stolen north ' t ' was recovered in the back of a blue ford explorer that was parked at the copper kettle on howell mill road , also in response to an anonymous tip . each student was required to pay $ 2 , 446 . 75 in damages ( $ 3 , 607 in 2016 ) although criminal charges were not filed . the georgia tech office of facilities reinstalled the ' t ' on january 31 , 1998 , 87 days after its attempted theft . one of the most theatrical thefts of the ' t ' occurred over the summer of 1999 . the ' t ' on the north face of tech tower was stolen by a group of " six or seven people " on the morning of june 3 , 1999 . the perpetrators wrote a letter detailing the theft to the editorial staff of the technique , georgia tech 's student newspaper . the letter , an abridged version of which was subsequently printed in the summer issue of the technique , described the process of stealing the ' t ' by lowering it via a rope and moving it to a secret location . the letter also included a photograph of the ' t ' " on vacation " in berkeley springs , west virginia . finally , the perpetrators indicated plans to return the ' t ' during the georgia tech homecoming parade , according to tradition , as long as no criminal charges would be brought against them . the letter was signed by fictitious georgia tech alumnus george p. burdell . however , the institute released a notice that those who stole the ' t ' would be harshly punished , and therefore the ' t ' remains to this day at an undisclosed location . the replacement ' t ' on the north face of tech tower was stolen on may 28 , 2001 by three students , two of whom were found guilty of numerous conduct code violations by the undergraduate judiciary cabinet and subsequently suspended . the students had successfully removed the ' t ' from its mount but were caught in the act by authorities when the removal triggered an alarm . in october 2005 , a replica of the ' t ' was stolen from the student services building and returned two days later . around midday on march 18 , 2014 , it was discovered that the north - facing ' t ' had been stolen from tech tower . in this case , the thief admitted guilt after detectives approached him at his residence that afternoon , and was suspended through the following summer , while also having to pay a restitution fee and tuition to retake his nearly completed spring 2014 classes . to handle this financial burden , the restitution fee alone totaling $ 14 , 823 . 98 , a was created by a friend of the thief that was well known on campus , to assure its legitimacy , without revealing the thief 's identity ( the friend 's name has since been removed from the post because of negative pressure from the gt administration ) . the tradition of stealing the ' t ' from tech tower has inspired copycat crimes involving other signage . during a georgia tech – nc state football game on november 4 , 2006 , the second ' t ' from a large nc state university banner mysteriously vanished from the upper deck of carter - finley stadium where it had been hanging . it was widely assumed across the tech campus that the prank was pulled off by a group of georgia tech students in an homage to the longstanding tech tower tradition ; however , it is possible that the t in the banner came loose and fell to the stands below . another copy cat incident occurred some time after the 2012 football game with virginia tech when vandals , believed to be yellow jacket fans , pried a t off of the sign in front of virginia tech 's lane stadium . the ' t ' was later dropped off at night to the georgia tech police department . the georgia tech president returned it to the virginia tech president in september 2012 along with an apology . similar copycat crimes have occurred on the georgia tech campus . in late 2001 , a group of georgia tech students calling itself the " caldwell liberation army " stole 32 ' t 's from signs on 16 campus buildings over a period of two nights . the students , who were not caught , vandalized the signs to express their bitterness at being displaced from caldwell residence hall while renovations were taking place . in february 2006 , it was noticed that small vinyl ' t ' stickers were being stolen from informational signs located around the georgia tech campus , creating confusion for visitors and new students . according to the georgia tech student government association ( sga ) , ' t ' thefts across campus cost the institute over $ 100 , 000 from 2010 – 11 . the sga discouraged these thefts , which they emphasized did not constitute a true georgia tech tradition : " the tradition is stealing the ' t ' from tech tower – no other ' t 's were ever a part of this tradition . " the campaign drew national press coverage . institute reaction the georgia tech administration 's position on stealing the ' t ' from tech tower has varied over the years . when the ' t ' was first stolen in 1969 , interim institute president vernon crawford was so upset he considered canceling classes until it was returned . afterwards , subsequent presidents opted to turn a blind eye to the practice , with one president , john patrick crecine , going so far as to endorse it . today , stealing the ' t ' is prohibited and is officially punishable with expulsion , although this has not happened in practice . after a georgia tech visitor was accidentally killed while climbing the alexander memorial coliseum in 1999 , institute president g. wayne clough banned stealing of the ' t ' and the climbing of any institute building , due to the risk of fatal falls and the potential for damage to the building . clough also expressed concern over the " incredibly expensive liability litigation " georgia tech could face in the event of an accident . to discourage climbing , security features such as pressure - sensitive roof tiling , fiber optic cabling running throughout the letters , and an audible alarm have been added to the ' t ' to help prevent its theft . in 2011 , the georgia tech student government association ( sga ) launched a " keep the ' t ' in tech " campaign to discourage thefts of ' t 's from signage around the campus . the week - long campaign took place from september 26 – 30 and included an online petition to be published in the technique , an open forum for discussing the issue , an amnesty day for returning stolen ' t 's , and " live the true tradition , " an evening event focused on the tradition of stealing the ' t ' from tech tower .