Highrise #46

**Campanile** **Art by:** Chris Hytha **Research by: ** Mark Houser A bell tower modeled after the famous Venice campanile centers the Springfield Municipal Group, where it is flanked by matching city and symphony halls. The complex replaced an old city hall that burned down in 1906. The campanile has endured a similarly troublesome existence. A nighttime explosion blew a hole through the base while it was still under construction. When the saboteurs were apprehended, they confessed to a string of bombings and said they took orders from a national ironworkers union in a scheme to terrorize capitalists into employing only unionized workers on construction projects. One got life in San Quentin. Former president William Howard Taft came to hear the chimes and bronze bell peal at the dedication, and the problems seemed to be over. Then 25 years later, a repair crew checking the malfunctioning chimes found flattened bullets scattered on the observation deck and realized the tower was being used for target practice. Surely some shooters used Springfield rifles, which were manufactured at the major federal arms works in town for more than a century. Decades have passed since the tower bells last tolled, and the clock is also out of commission. Black safety netting keeps the limestone corners from crumbling while funds are sought for an extensive and expensive restoration.