Lowell Tower Sheds Emerald Glow As Pranksters Honor Saint Patrick

Pranksters scaled a 30-foot ladder and bypassed a padlocked iron door to paint the bulbs in the Lowell House tower a pale green Saturday. Usually bathed in orange light, the bell tower glowed emerald Saturday night in tribute to St. Patrick.

The perpetrators of the stunt, a Lowell and a Leverett House man thoughtfully left a note in the tower explaining how to remove the green paint with a damp rag.

The pair explained how they had "taken care of" the padlock on the door which led to the tower's lower level. They then removed the orange lenses from seven floodlights and painted the bulbs with watercolor paint.

A hair-raising climb on a 30-foot ladder brought them to the tower's second level, where they repeated the operation on four more bulbs. Lowell House officials knew nothing about the affairs until the night watchman turned the lights on in honor of Lowell's opera, "Amadis."

In years past, the Lowell Bell Tower has also been used as a meeting place for the Verein Turmwechter, the College German Society.