The Coughlin Campanile, a memorable landmark for South Dakota State University and the city of Brookings, is the state’s tallest chimes tower. It was built in 1929-30 as a $65,000 gift from 1909 alumnus Charles Coughlin, an engineering graduate who became a prominent Milwaukee manufacturer and served as president, treasurer, and general manager of the Briggs & Stratton Corporation in Wisconsin. A native of Carthage, S.D., Coughlin laid the Campanile cornerstone during the first outdoor commencement exercises held in Coolidge Sylvan Theatre on June 10, 1929. The Campanile was registered as significant on the National Register of Historic Places on February 26, 1987, and its use of classical motifs and devices suggests some beaux arts classicism influence.