Bok Tower Gardens is a 250 acre attraction in Lake Wales, Florida and about an hour south of Orlando. The facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. Bok Tower Gardens contains extensive botanical gardens, a Carillion tower, hiking trails, a museum and there are annual events at the gardens designed to highlight aspects of the attraction.
In 1921 the editor and wife of Ladies Home Journal decided to build a birdhouse and garden. Edward and Mary Louise Bok had already founded the Curtis Institute of Music in their summer home of Philadelphia, and now they were seeking a similar project at their winter home at Lake Wales Ridge. The first project on the list was a bird sanctuary to sit atop the highest elevation on Lake Wales. In the end, a sweeping facility for birdlife was made on a once arid sand hill that reached 298 feet above sea level. Many varieties of birds were introduced to the sanctuary, all successfully with the exception of Flamingos. Many attempts were made, but they could never survive the comparatively cold winters.
When it was time to begin the garden design, the Bok's brought in renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Hundreds of species of plant life were brought in, including camellias, tree ferns, creeping figs, spider lilies, wax myrtle, azaleas, magnolias, gardenias, blueberry, and holly. Trees were no exception, including over 1000 oak trees and 100 palms. The gardens are also home to birdlife, such as wild turkey, sandhill cranes and of course the two majestic trumpeter swans who make their home in the reflection pool.
The most visible and possibly most striking part of Bok Tower Gardens is the Singing Tower. Constructed in the style of Gothic Revival and Art Deco, the Singing Tower was designed by the great architect Milton Medary. Surrounding the Singing Tower is a 15 foot moat filled with Koi fish. The tower itself is built from pink Etowah marble, grey Creole marble and has an ornately carved brass door.
There are 60 bells in the 205 foot tower, as well as the largest carillon library in the world. Daily recitals are given from the carillon set, which are played from a clavier (a keyboard designed for playing bells). The tower itself began construction in 1927 but was not fully completed until two years later, when the gardens were opened and dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge.
Bok Tower Gardens has a place on the National Register of Historic Places because of its beauty, its lineage and its draw to visitors. The attraction is deemed a National Historic Landmark for the architecture and construction of the Singing Tower, the landscape of the garden and the master craftsman who created it (Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.), and the significance of President Coolidge being called upon to dedicate the gardens. At Bok Tower Gardens there is something to stimulate all the senses and remind the visitor just what beauty we are capable of creating.
In 1921 the editor and wife of Ladies Home Journal decided to build a birdhouse and garden. Edward and Mary Louise Bok had already founded the Curtis Institute of Music in their summer home of Philadelphia, and now they were seeking a similar project at their winter home at Lake Wales Ridge. The first project on the list was a bird sanctuary to sit atop the highest elevation on Lake Wales. In the end, a sweeping facility for birdlife was made on a once arid sand hill that reached 298 feet above sea level. Many varieties of birds were introduced to the sanctuary, all successfully with the exception of Flamingos. Many attempts were made, but they could never survive the comparatively cold winters.
When it was time to begin the garden design, the Bok's brought in renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Hundreds of species of plant life were brought in, including camellias, tree ferns, creeping figs, spider lilies, wax myrtle, azaleas, magnolias, gardenias, blueberry, and holly. Trees were no exception, including over 1000 oak trees and 100 palms. The gardens are also home to birdlife, such as wild turkey, sandhill cranes and of course the two majestic trumpeter swans who make their home in the reflection pool.
The most visible and possibly most striking part of Bok Tower Gardens is the Singing Tower. Constructed in the style of Gothic Revival and Art Deco, the Singing Tower was designed by the great architect Milton Medary. Surrounding the Singing Tower is a 15 foot moat filled with Koi fish. The tower itself is built from pink Etowah marble, grey Creole marble and has an ornately carved brass door.
There are 60 bells in the 205 foot tower, as well as the largest carillon library in the world. Daily recitals are given from the carillon set, which are played from a clavier (a keyboard designed for playing bells). The tower itself began construction in 1927 but was not fully completed until two years later, when the gardens were opened and dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge.
Bok Tower Gardens has a place on the National Register of Historic Places because of its beauty, its lineage and its draw to visitors. The attraction is deemed a National Historic Landmark for the architecture and construction of the Singing Tower, the landscape of the garden and the master craftsman who created it (Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.), and the significance of President Coolidge being called upon to dedicate the gardens. At Bok Tower Gardens there is something to stimulate all the senses and remind the visitor just what beauty we are capable of creating.
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