Bok Tower Gardens

Edward William Bok, editor of the magazine The Ladies Home Journal, and his wife, Mary Louise Curtis Bok, spent the winter of 1921 in Florida, near Lake Wales Ridge after his retirement. The Boks loved the beauty of the area, and created a 25-acre (10 ha) bird sanctuary on the ridge's highest hill to protect the land from being developed.[3] They commissioned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to transform what then was an arid sandhill 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. Olmsted's 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 such as 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. Some of the flamingos did not survive winters that were cooler than those of southern Florida and others were killed by animals. The nightingales brought from England did not do well due to the relative cold of central Florida.[6]

The gardens are currently ten times their original size, and 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. 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.

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  "Where Edward Bok is happiest: in his garden."[7]
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  Reflecting pool
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  Azaleas in bloom
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  Atop the ridge
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  Orange groves below the ridge
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  Wetlands boardwalk
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  Rain shelter
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  Window by the Pond
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  Peace Lantern
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  National Historic Landmark plaque

The dedication reads: THIS SINGING TOWER WITH ITS ADJACENT SANCTUARY WAS DEDICATED AND PRESENTED FOR VISITATION TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY CALVIN COOLIDGE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY THE FIRST NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE

Bok Tower, as seen from across the Reflecting Pool. The tower is 205 feet tall and houses the 60-bell carillon within.

Bok Tower, or the Singing Tower, viewed from behind. Note the pink marble and coquina.

By 1925, Bok had decided to replace the bird sanctuary's water tower with a stone water-and-bell tower.[3] He hired architect Milton B. Medary to design "the most beautiful tower in the world".[3] The 60-bell carillon occupies only the top of the Singing Tower, some of the rest contained large water tanks to irrigate the gardens, with Bok's baronial study at the base.[3] The 15-foot (4.6 m)-wide moat surrounding the tower's base now serves as a koi pond.

The Gothic Revival tower was built at the highest elevation of the site, south of a reflecting pool that reflects its full image. The tower is 51 feet (16 m) square at its base, changing at the height of 150 feet (46 m) to an octagon, with each of the eight sides 37 feet (11 m) wide.[3] It is built of pink Etowah marble and gray Creole marble, mined in Tate, Georgia, and coquina stone from St. Augustine, Florida.

The south facade of the Singing Tower

Medary assembled a team of top artisans in their fields—the Art Deco architectural sculpture was designed and executed by Lee Lawrie, and depicts Florida flora and fauna;[3] metalworker Samuel Yellin designed and executed the iron interior staircase, the iron gates to the two bridges over the moat, and the Great Brass Door, which features 30 scenes from the Book of Genesis;[3] J. H. Dulles Allen designed and executed the ceramic mosaics, including the eight 35-foot (11 m)-tall grilles at the top of the tower.[3] Horace H. Burrell & Son, of Philadelphia, was contractor for the tower.[3] Construction began in 1927, and was completed two years later.[3] Outgoing President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the tower on February 1, 1929.[8]

The American Institute of Architects awarded Medary its 1929 Gold Medal for his Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower.[9] Medary died six months after the tower's dedication.[9]

Edward W. Bok wrote a short book about the tower's planning and construction titled, America's Taj Mahal (1929).[3] Bok died on January 9, 1930, and was interred before the tower's Great Brass Door.[10]

Bok Exedra

Dedication plaque, by Lee Lawrie

In appreciation for Edward W. Bok's extraordinary gift of the gardens and tower to the nation, a group of his neighbors from Mountain Lake, Florida[13] commissioned an exedra, or curving bench, in his honor, in 1930. This was created using the same pink and gray marble as the Singing Tower, and installed north of the tower. One of its bronze plaques reads:

In 2022, Bok Tower Gardens received a matching grant of $500,000 from the Save America's Treasures program. While much of it was for landscaping restoration, a portion was to be used for "restoration and conservation of the Exedra water fountain".[14]

Pinewood

The Pinewood Estate comprises 8 acres (3.2 ha) of the gardens, and features a twenty-room Mediterranean Revival mansion. This was built between 1930 and 1932 as a winter residence by C. Austin Buck, vice-president of the Bethlehem Steel Company, in Pennsylvania. The mansion's former name was El Retiro, and it has been restored to its 1930s appearance. The El Retiro name is the one used for the estate as of 2023. Bok Tower Gardens hosts several events at the mansion during the year. The estate was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in December 1985.[15] Guided tours of the mansion are given daily.

Pine Ridge Nature Preserve restores the native habitat

The Pine Ridge Nature Preserve and Trail is an ecosystem typified by an over-story of longleaf pine, sandhill habitats, and a dense ground cover of perennial grasses that includes a nature trail that begins at the Window by the Pond and extends for three-quarters of a mile ending at the Visitor Center. The trail is located on one of the highest points in peninsular Florida at 298 feet (91 m) above sea level. Long ago the Lake Wales Ridge was a chain of islands. The plants and animals found on the ridge are unique because they evolved on the chain of islands, which is why the most rare plants and animals can be found in this area. The Pine Ridge is home to several endangered animals including the gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, gopher frogs, and the Florida mouse.[16] Conservation efforts for the pine trail by Bok Tower Gardens include restoration of native plants, the regulation of invasive species and educating the public.[17]

Originally built in 1997, Bok Tower Gardens' Visitor Center completed a $1.8 million expansion in 2019.[18] The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Exhibit Hall houses a redesigned exhibition showcasing the landmark's history, architecture, and surrounding wildlife and ecology. The information desk, an informative orientation film, a local art exhibit space, and the administrative offices are located in the Visitor Center.[19] In separate buildings attached to the Visitor Center by covered walkways and a promenade are the Tower & Garden Gift Shop and the Blue Palmetto Café.[20]

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  Visitor Center
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  Exhibit
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  Edward W. Bok exhibit
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  Carillon keyboard exhibit

The Singing Tower houses collections that document the history and growth of the gardens and its buildings, along with Pinewood Estate. While the collections are closed to the public, selections from the archives are displayed in the Visitor Center.[12]

Throughout the year, there are numerous events designed to draw visitors to the gardens. These vary year to year [23] but have included concerts featuring jazz and orchestral music, and the daily playing of the carillon bells. Most popular are the semi-annual evening symphony concerts, given once in the fall and once in the spring. These draw thousands of visitors to the large field in front of the Tower for an outdoor picnic, and feature music from both the orchestra and the carillon.[24]

• List of botanical gardens in the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bok Tower Gardens.

• Official website
• Polk County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs