The Beautiful Mystique of the Hayward Field Tower

When Oregon officials most recently remodeled their century-old stadium, they wanted the tower to speak to the history of the track program.

Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard/USA Today Network

EUGENE, Ore. — This tower, well, it towers. It rises and rises—and rises and rises. It soars skyward, until necks scream from bending back too far. It stands sentry, looming over the frenzy that is a world championships track meet unfolding down below.

This tower, all 10 stories and 188 feet (plus 8 inches) of it, is almost unfathomable. It gleams on sunny afternoons. At night, it can be lit up, like the Empire State Building. It alternately resembles the world’s largest ice cream cone, the world’s tallest and shiniest vase or (more on this later) the world’s largest joint.