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| Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida |
In February 2018, we grabbed some friends and took our RV over to Bok Tower Gardens in Lakeland, Florida for the day. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in the café and then explored the beautiful tower and gardens. Afterward, we went back to the RV and enjoyed a charcuterie board with beverages before driving back. Since we didn’t arrive early enough to truly enjoy this treasure, we will definitely be back soon.
The history behind the creation of Bok Tower Gardens originates with Edward William Bok, who was born in Den Helder, Netherlands on October 9, 1863. Edward Bok immigrated to Brooklyn, New York when he was just six years old, and in 1896, he married Mary L. Curtis. The Boks began spending the winter months in the residential Mountain Lake Community located adjacent to “Iron Mountain”, one of the highest hills in Florida. While taking long evening walks to the hilltop to enjoy the scenery and wildlife, he realized that this place of peace and serenity should be preserved. The Bok’s purchased the land and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmststead Jr. to create the gardens and serene nature paths.
The history behind the creation of Bok Tower Gardens originates with Edward William Bok, who was born in Den Helder, Netherlands on October 9, 1863. Edward Bok immigrated to Brooklyn, New York when he was just six years old, and in 1896, he married Mary L. Curtis. The Boks began spending the winter months in the residential Mountain Lake Community located adjacent to “Iron Mountain”, one of the highest hills in Florida. While taking long evening walks to the hilltop to enjoy the scenery and wildlife, he realized that this place of peace and serenity should be preserved. The Bok’s purchased the land and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmststead Jr. to create the gardens and serene nature paths.
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| View from the hilltop |
The 205ft “Singing Tower”, built out of pink Etowah and gray Creole marble and coquina stone, was designed by architect Milton B. Medary and stone sculptor Lee Lawrie. It houses a 60-bell carillon that was designed and built in 1928 by John Taylor Bellfoundry, Ltd. of Loughborough, England. The “Reflection Pond” is a moat surrounding the tower filled with beautiful plants and koi fish. It was created to attract wildlife and capture the beauty of the Singing Tower in its reflection. The interior of the tower contains a library, archives, and the playing room where the carillon’s clavier is housed.
On January 9, 1930, Edward William Bok passed away in Lake Wales within sight of his Singing Tower and is buried at its base.
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| The Singing Tower's reflection |
Also located on the property is Pinewood Estate, a twenty-room Mediterranean Revival mansion on approximately eight acres. Built in the early 1930s by C. Austin Buck, and named "El Retiro", it was originally used as Buck’s winter residence. It was acquired in 1970 by Nellie Lee Holt Bok, daughter-in-law of Edward Bok, and fully restored so that it can be enjoyed by visitors to the gardens.
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| Pinewood Estate |
