Hardy Memorial Tower was built in 1931 as one of the original buildings when San Diego State moved to its Montezuma Mesa campus, designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by architect William Templeton Johnson. Rising eleven stories and 119 feet above Montezuma Mesa, the tower served as the university's original library and cleverly concealed a water tank that provided pressure for the remote campus. The location was deliberate. San Diego State's predecessor institution, the State Normal School, had moved to this hilltop site to accommodate growth, and the tower announced that presence to the surrounding city. Named for Dr. Edward Hardy, who served as president of the Normal School from 1910 to 1935, the tower honored the administrator who guided the institution through its transformation into a full university.

In 1946, Senator and Mrs. Ed Fletcher presented the Fletcher Symphonic Carillon to the university, commemorating its fiftieth anniversary and memorializing students lost in war. What began as 24 amplified chimes evolved over decades into a complete 204-bell carillon spanning six octaves, with the final upgrade completed in 2007. Also known as the Fletcher Chimes, this instrument transformed the tower from visual landmark to audible presence across campus. The bells mark academic hours and special occasions, their sound carrying across the mesa and into the neighborhoods below. For over fifty years, volunteer carillonneur Terry O'Donnell maintained the tradition, playing the carillon for students and visitors. The bells connect Hardy Tower to medieval European traditions of campus campaniles while grounding San Diego State in the rhythms of academic life.

When Genevieve Burgeson Bredo painted 'NRA Packages' in 1936, she documented a specific moment in American history. The mural shows three men unloading boxes marked with the blue eagle symbol of the National Recovery Administration near San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood. George Sorenson's larger work, 'San Diego Industry,' depicted the tuna fishing and canning operations that once defined San Diego's waterfront economy, emphasizing the diverse workforce that powered those industries. Both murals disappeared when ceiling tiles were installed during mid-century renovations. Their 2004 rediscovery sparked preservation efforts. 'NRA Packages' has been restored and now hangs in Malcolm A. Love Library. 'San Diego Industry' remains in the tower, awaiting removal and restoration.

Hardy Memorial Tower stands today in the northwest corner of Hepner Hall Quad, surrounded by classrooms and administrative offices for the College of Health and Human Services. The tower no longer serves as a library. That function moved to the larger Love Library decades ago. But the tower's role as campus symbol has only strengthened over time. Its image appears on university materials and merchandise. Alumni remember it as the visual center of their college years. The 2008 Governor's Historic Preservation Award recognized the university's efforts to maintain and interpret this Depression-era landmark. What began as a campus landmark has become irreplaceable, a tower that holds bells, murals, and nearly a century of institutional memory.