Can a tower actually sing?
Not exactly, but the one at Bok Tower Gardens can warble melodiously, sending forth ringing music in one of Florida’s most tranquil settings.
The Singing Tower, as it has long been called, is the centerpiece of the 250-acre attraction in Lake Wales. The tower, constructed from pink and gray marble supplemented with coquina and completed in 1929, sits atop one of the highest points in peninsular Florida.
The area around the tower offers panoramic views of grassy slopes, citrus groves and stately trees.
Edward Bok, the editor of The Ladies’ Home Journal, selected Polk County as the site of a soaring carillon tower surrounded by stunning gardens. The tower was completed in 1929. Bok, who died less than a year after the gardens’ opening, is buried at the foot of the tower.
History
Edward W. Bok, the Dutch-born editor of The Ladies’ Home Journal, selected the Polk County site as the setting for a soaring edifice surrounded by greenery.
Bok commissioned architect Milton B. Medary to design and build the carillon tower, with Lee O. Lawrie crafting its elegant marble sculptures, which depict biblical scenes and such local creatures as herons and tortoises.
The Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens was designed by architect Milton B. Medary.
President Calvin Coolidge spoke at the official opening of Bok Tower Gardens on Feb. 1, 1929. A sabal palm tree planted by Coolidge still stands, casting its shadow toward the tower.
Bok, who died less than a year after the park’s opening, is buried at the base of the tower named for him.
The 205-foot Singing Tower is a carillon, a musical instrument featuring 60 bronze bells.
The Tower
The 205-foot Singing Tower contains a carillon, a musical instrument featuring an array of 60 bronze bells fastened near the tower’s apex. A carillonneur in a closed chamber below plays a clavier, using closed fists and feet to manipulate wooden knobs and pedals. Through a system of levers and electronics, clappers strike the immobile bells, the largest of which weighs 12 tons.
The heaviest of the bells, fastened near the top of the tower, is 12 tons. They’re played by a carillonneur from a closed chamber below.
Visitors will hear recitals daily at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., with short selections played on the hour and half-hour. Though some music is recorded, Geert D’hollander, only the fourth carillonneur in the park’s history, performs live Thursday to Sunday from mid-October through mid-May.
A fence and a shallow moat surround the tower, and Bok Tower Gardens does not offer tours for daily visitors.
Belgian-American composer and carillonneur Geert D’hollander is Bok Tower Gardens’ fourth full-time carillonneur.
The Gardens
Surrounding the tower are a mixture of native habitat and cultivated gardens containing flowering foliage, from magnolias and azaleas to such exotic varieties as shampoo ginger and voodoo lily. Designed by esteemed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., the gardens create a placid setting in which squirrels scamper and butterflies meander.
Walking paths to the tower are paved, while mulch covers the surfaces of other trails through the gardens. Dog lovers, take note: Leashed canines are allowed in much of the attraction (for an extra $10 fee).
A canopy of oaks surrounds the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens, situated on one of peninsular Florida’s highest peaks.
Both the 1.5-mile Preserve Trail and the ¾-mile Pine Ridge Trail pass through sections of native longleaf pine habitat, home to such imperiled animals as gopher tortoises and Eastern indigo snakes. Bok Tower Gardens lies along the Lake Wales Ridge, a topographic remnant containing species of plants found nowhere else.
Hammock Hollow Children’s Garden beckons with a variety of play areas, such as Songbird Music Tree and Spider Climb, along with cooling water features.
El Retiro
Bok Tower Gardens offers tours of El Retiro, a 12,900-square-foot mansion in Mediterranean Revival mode built in the early 1930s as a winter retreat for Charles Austin Buck, a steel magnate.
The structure, acquired in 1970 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been restored to its original grandeur, complete with period furniture and artwork. Surrounded by shade trees, the estate boasts a patio, a Spanish-tiled fountain and a small grotto.
El Retiro is a a 12,900-square-foot Mediterranean Revival mansion built in the early 1930s as a winter retreat for steel magnate Charles Austin Buck.
If you go
HOURS: Bok Tower Gardens is open daily (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5 p.m.
ADMISSION: $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 6-17. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Admission for dogs is $10.
EL RETIRO: Tours cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17.
AMENITIES: The Visitor Center, Blue Palmetto Cafe and Shop at Bok are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Bok Tower Gardens is located at 1151 Tower Blvd. in Lake Wales, east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando. It can be reached from U.S. 27, exit 55 from Interstate 4.
ONLINE: https://boktowergardens.org/
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: At Bok Tower Gardens, bells gently toll in placid setting