One Powerful Tower

The Unity Village Tower stands as a symbol of beauty, utility, and universal supply

In the 1980 movie Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Jedi Master Yoda famously told his young Padawan, Luke Skywalker, “Do or do not; there is no try.” He encouraged Luke to become the best he could be and to trust himself. By the end of the original Star Wars trilogy, Luke had faced and overcome many challenges.

While most days aren’t as challenging as learning to become a Jedi master, defeating your corrupted father, and bringing peace to the galaxy, some of them can certainly feel like they are.

On those occasions, wouldn’t you do anything for a lightsaber? While Unity Village may not offer any such impressive intergalactic weaponry, it does offer something just as potent, right in the middle of campus: the Unity Tower.

Unity operates Unity Online Radio from the Tower, with hundreds of hours of free spiritual radio programming from a wide variety of Unity and New Thought leaders, available live and for download.

In addition, the Tower observation deck is now one of the most sought-after destinations for small wedding ceremonies and photo shoots in the Kansas City area.

Building a Regional Landmark

Unity Tower has been an icon of the Unity movement since the 165-foot structure was erected in 1929. It was the brainchild of Unity architect and visionary Rickert Fillmore, second son of Unity founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore.

Rickert collaborated with Kansas City, Missouri, architects Elmer Boillot and Jesse F. Lauck in 1927, when the first plans were drawn up for the Tower. Two years later it stood complete. In 1989 both the Tower and the Education Building (now the Silent Unity Building) were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Tower reflects the architectural style of the rest of the buildings on campus—modified Italian Renaissance—and for years was referred to as the Campanile, the Italian term for “bell tower.”

It’s served many more functions since its inception, including housing Rickert’s seventh-floor office, a welcome center, a credit union, a post office, the public relations department, offices for overseas operations, along with the Unity Radio and Television Department.

Unity Tower’s Functional Secret

But the structure’s most important and most practical function is that it holds a 100,000-gallon water tank, supplying water to Unity Village. The water tank is located between the observation deck (not currently accessible to the public) and the seventh-floor radio studios.

As time went by, the Tower slowly deteriorated and sat vacant for more than a decade. In 2011, Unity pledged to restore it to its former glory. Unity received a $3 million gift to fund the exterior and structural repairs, and further gifts funded the renovation of the interior space.

Along with the renovations, a prayer garden was created encircling the Tower’s base, displaying 12 sculptures by Barry Eisenhart representing the Twelve Powers of Unity—divine qualities innate to all people (faith, strength, wisdom, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, order, zeal, elimination, and life).

From water tower to broadcasting studio to iconic landmark, Unity Tower is so much more than the sum of its parts and history, as Rickert did a phenomenal job of describing in 1939:

“While the Tower was built for utilitarian purposes, it is something more than that. It is a symbol of universal supply.”

This article has been updated from its original version in Unity Magazine®.