Jump to content

Bok Tower Gardens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pergish1 (talk | contribs) at 23:44, 1 January 2013 (Removes another PR-seeking, non-relevant cite of "poet CEE" by now-nonexistent user Two-Fisted Tales.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the "Singing Tower" in Florida. For the Tulsa skyscraper (formerly One Williams Center), see BOK Tower.
Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower
Bok Tower, March 2008
Location1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales, Florida USA
Built1927-1929 by Mary Louise Curtis and Edward W. Bok
ArchitectMilton B. Medary[1] (tower)
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (gardens)
Architectural styleGothic Revival[1]
NRHP reference No.72000350
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 21, 1972[1]
Designated NHLApril 19, 1993[2][3]

Bok Tower Gardens (also known as Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower) is a botanical garden and bird sanctuary, located north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It consists of a 250-acre (1 k2) garden, the 205-foot (62 m) tall Singing Tower with its carillon bells, Pine Ridge Trail, Pinewood Estate, and a visitor center. The tower is built upon Iron Mountain, one of the highest points of peninsular Florida, estimated to be 295 feet (90 m) above sea level.[4] It is a National Historic Landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bok Tower Gardens is open daily and an admission fee is charged.

History

The gardens began in 1921 when a Dutch immigrant, Edward W. Bok, editor of the popular women's magazine Ladies Home Journal and his wife, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, who would found the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 1924, were spending the winter beside Florida's Lake Wales Ridge and decided to create a bird sanctuary on its highest hill (298 feet above sea level, 91 meters).

Bok commissioned noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to transform what then was an arid sand hill into "a spot of beauty second to none in the country". The first year was spent digging trenches and laying pipes for irrigation, after which soil was brought to the site by thousands of truck loads and plantings began. The Olmsted plan included the planting of 1,000 large live oaks, 10,000 azaleas, 100 sabal palms, 300 magnolias, and 500 gordonias, as well as hundreds of fruit shrubs including blueberry and holly.

Attempts were made to introduce flamingos to the sanctuary several times, which is why early renderings of the tower show flamingos at the reflection pool rather than swans. These early efforts were unsuccessful, however, as the flamingos were not native to central Florida and could not survive the winters that were cooler than those of southern Florida where they may be found.

Under construction for over five years, Bok Tower Gardens was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge on February 1, 1929.[5] Edward Bok died on January 9, 1930 and was interred at the base of the tower.[6]

Gardens

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. designed the meandering gardens of Bok Tower Gardens to feature acres of ferns, palms, oaks, pines, and wetland plants. The plantings also include camellias, tree ferns, creeping fig, yaupon and dahoon holly, Asiatic jasmine, justicia, crinum and spider lily, monstera, wax myrtle, date and sabal palm, papyrus, philodendron, blue plumbago, and horsetail rush (Juncaceae). The site is a refuge for more than a hundred bird species. Wild turkey and groups of sandhill cranes are also often seen wandering the grounds.

Singing Tower

The ornate brass door leading into Bok Tower and details of its stonework

The Singing Tower is the centerpiece of the gardens. The tower was built at the highest elevation of the site, south of a reflection pool that allows the water to reflect its full image. A 60-bell carillon (cast by Taylor[7]) set within the 205-foot (62 m) tall, Gothic Revival and Art Deco tower that was designed by architect Milton B. Medary. Construction on the tower began in 1927 and was completed for the dedication of the gardens in 1929, when it was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge. The tower is 51 feet (16 m) square at its base, changing form at 150 feet (46 m) high to an octagon with 37 feet (11 m) sides that include sculptures designed by Lee Lawrie. The tower is surrounded by a 15-foot (4.6 m) moat that serves as a Koi pond. It is built of pink Etowah marble and gray Creole marble, mined in Tate, Georgia, and Florida native coquina stone, from Daytona Beach, Florida.

Although the tower's interior is not open to the public, it contains the Anton Brees Carillon Library, said to be the largest carillon library in the world. Although, every year, graduating seniors from Lake Wales High School, a local high school located down the street from the tower, have the very rare opportunity to see the inside of the tower.

Inside the bell chamber is a playing room that houses a clavier, or keyboard, that is used for playing the carillon bells. Recitals are given daily from the 60-bell carillon set.

Pine Ridge Trail

The Pine Ridge Nature Preserve and Trail is an ecosystem typified by an over-story of Longleaf Pine and a dense groundcover of perennial grasses that includes a nature trail that extends for three-quarters of a mile, a bog garden, an open glade, and a sandhill forest community.

Pinewood Estate

8 acres (32,000 m2) of the Gardens include the Pinewood Estate, which features a twenty-room Mediterranean Revival mansion. This mansion was built between 1930-1932 by C. Austin Buck, vice-president of Bethlehem Steel Co. in Pennsylvania, as a winter residence. Its original name was "El Retiro", and it has been restored to its 1930s appearance. The sanctuary features several events at this mansion during the year. Guided tours of the 20 room Mediterranean-style mansion are given daily.

Exhibit Hall and Museum

Historical perspective on the life of Edward W. Bok and the story of the creation of the garden.

Events

Throughout the year, there are numerous events designed to draw visitors to the Gardens. These events include various concerts featuring jazz, orchestras, and the carillon bells of the Tower. The most popular are the semi-annual symphony concerts, given in the evening once in the Fall and once in the Spring. These events draw thousands of visitors to the large field in front of the Tower for an outdoor picnic; and feature music from both the symphony orchestra and carillon bells.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "National Register of Historical Places - Florida (FL), Polk County". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-09-22.
  2. ^ "Bok Tower Gardens (Historic Bok Sanctuary)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  3. ^ Rebecca Spain Schwarz (October 9, 1992). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower / Bok Tower Gardens" (Document). National Park Service. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help) and Template:PDFlink
  4. ^ Topographic map of Iron Mountain in Lake Wales, FL. USGS via MSR Maps.
  5. ^ Anonymous. U. S. Taj. Time, Monday, Feb. 11, 1929
  6. ^ Anonymous. Story-Book Bok. Time, Monday, Jan. 20, 1930
  7. ^ "The Masters Behind the Masterpiece" Bok Tower Gardens
  8. ^ Bok Tower Main Page, discusses such topics on main page.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bok Tower Gardens.
  • Rear side of tower
    Rear side of tower
  • Detail of glazed ceramic mosaics
    Detail of glazed ceramic mosaics
  • Distant orange groves seen from atop site of Bok Tower (Iron Mountain summit)
    Distant orange groves seen from atop site of Bok Tower
    (Iron Mountain summit)
  • Sundial on the Singing Tower
    Sundial on the Singing Tower
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Bok_Tower_Gardens&oldid=530831876"