In keeping with the festive atmosphere of Homecoming weekend, the College will throw open the doors to Baker Tower and allow the Dartmouth community to tour the top of the premier building on campus.
"It's nice to be able to go up there, and see the beautiful views that are a part of our daily lives when we're walking around down there," said Jennifer Taxman, the head of access services at Baker Library.
According to Taxman, there is no particular motivation for the Homecoming tower tours -- which are also given on several holiday weekends -- except to celebrate the College's history and tradition.
The tower is accessible from the top of the Baker stacks. Because the elevator only goes up to the seventh floor of the stacks, visitors must climb several narrow flights of stairs beyond that point, passing by some machinery and the inside of the clock-face.
While the visit itself takes only about 10 or 15 minutes, the rarity of these visits means that there is usually a long wait involved. Most students feel, however, that the wait is worthwhile.
"I had to wait for almost an hour, but the view was awesome, and since I went with my parents during first-year family weekend, it was a great bonding experience," Yamini Rao '06 said.
The viewing area is also higher than it seems, and going all the way to the top is not recommended for people with acrophobia.
"It was nice, but I was so scared," Zobeida Torres '06 said.
In the past academic year, the tower was open for Homecoming, Winter Carnival, first-year family weekend, Green Key weekend, Commencement and reunion week and sophomore family weekend. All told, a total of 2,633 people made the climb to the top last year.
This weekend, the tower will be open for visitors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Homecoming is also one of the times that the "green lantern" is lit at the top of Baker Tower. This visually striking spectacle is sometimes referred to as the "money light," since it is generally lit when a large number of College alumni or trustees are present on campus.
Instead of the usual plain background, the clock-face appears green. The color is produced by eight 500-watt floodlights with green filters, which shine on the inside of the glass surface.
In October 1975, Jack Skewes, then-director of business affairs, established the list of occasions on which the green lantern would be lit. The same events trigger the use of the green lights today.
To complement the tours of Baker Tower, the library will also feature its usual exhibits this weekend. Visitors will be able to view the recently-acquired Spanish play collection displayed in the Baker Main Hall and "Face Value," a series of photographs by Sabine I. Gotz near the library's Main Street entrance and the ever-popular Orozco frescoes in the reserve corridor.
