The Clock Tower – University of Auckland

The Clock Tower, formerly known as the Old Arts Building, at 22 Princes Street, is the city’s most iconic building.  Standing 54 metres high, it was inspired by the famous Tom Tower at Christ Church, Oxford and has come to symbolise the university.  It was made of Mount Somers stone, designed by R.A. Lippincott, a Chicago trained architect, working for his brother-in-law, Walter Burley Griffin, whose practice in Melbourne was responsible for the initial designs for Canberra as the capital of Australia.  Lippincott won an architectural competition in 1921.  It was the first building to be designed and built for use by Auckland University College.