Bok Tower Gardens
LAKE WALES, Fla. – As the world has grown more complex and its pace more hurried, there is one spot in the heart of Central Florida where time stands still and a sense of peace and tranquility prevail. Bok Tower Gardens has offered some of Florida’s most remarkable experiences to more than 23 million visitors since 1929. Through its historic landscape gardens, unique Singing Tower and palatial 1930s winter estate, the Gardens offers unparalleled opportunities for artistic, cultural, personal and spiritual enrichment.
Located approximately 55 miles southwest of Orlando and east of Tampa near Lake Wales, is the 250-acre Bok Tower Gardens, a National Historic Landmark. When its founder, Edward W. Bok, immigrated to America from Den Helder, Netherlands, at age 6, he did not understand the language, customs or culture. Through determination and hard work, he became a highly successful publisher, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, respected humanitarian and an advocate of world peace and the environment. Bok’s grandmother told him to “make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it,” and he did that throughout his lifetime.
During visits from their Pennsylvania residence to their winter retreat near Lake Wales, Florida, Mr. Bok became enchanted with the beauty and vistas from nearby Iron Mountain. At 298 feet above sea level peninsular Florida’s highest point offered views of dramatic sunsets. Awed by the tranquility of the area, Bok wanted to create a place that would “touch the soul with its beauty and quiet,” and chose it as a perfect setting for a bird sanctuary. He purchased multiple residential to transform them into a sweeping landscape of lush gardens featuring a majestic Singing Tower with a carillon. Originally called Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, Bok presented this extraordinary gift in 1929 as an enduring token of his appreciation for the opportunities he had been given.
Today, Bok Tower Gardens is a haven for birds, animals and the human spirit. It blends the beauty of nature and the intrigue of history with an outstanding collection of musical, artistic and architectural masterpieces that enrich the hearts, minds and souls of all who visit. The Gardens features beautifully landscaped gardens, a belltower with a 60-bell carillon and the charming seven and a half-acre Pinewood Estate.
The Gardens’ Visitor Center features permanent exhibits that provide insight and historical perspectives on Edward Bok’s life and influence as well as offerings of the Gardens and a nine-minute orientation film. Also, temporary exhibits showcase artists’ interpretations of Florida’s flora and fauna.
The Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens boasts one of the greatest works of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. The historic landscape garden was designed to be a contemplative and informal woodland setting offering a series of romantic recesses and tranquil resting spots, picturesque vistas and breathtaking views of the Tower. Acres of ferns, palms, oaks and pines fashion a lush backdrop for flowering foliage and the spectacular seasonal color of azaleas, camellias and magnolias showcasing an ever-changing work of art.
One of the wonderful attributes of the gardens and natural habitats is its wildlife population. It includes 126 different species of birds as well as the threatened gopher tortoise and endangered eastern indigo snake. The Gardens is a designated site on the Great Florida Birding Trail. At “Window By The Pond,” a small observatory overlooking a Florida bog, visitors can watch birds, reptiles, butterflies and native species in their natural habitat. A sign proclaims, “This is nature’s show, not ours. No scheduled performances.” The Pine Ridge Nature Preserve provides a rare opportunity to explore one of the nation’s few remaining longleaf pine-turkey oak habitats. Many of its rare plant species are found no where else in the world.
The Carillon and Belltower
Bok remembered the music of the carillons from his childhood in the Netherlands, and commissioned a Singing Tower and world-class carillon to serve as the focal point of the gardens. Bok Tower Gardens’ carillon is today one of only four in Florida. The 60 bell Taylor Carillon has bells ranging in weight from 16 pounds to nearly 12 tons. Brief recorded carillon music fills the Sanctuary every 30 minutes and concerts are featured daily at 1 and 3 p.m.
The best craftsmen and artisans of the day created the timeless musical masterpiece. Famed Philadelphia architect Milton B. Medary designed a uniquely original 205-foot carillon Tower. Medary’s splendid art deco and neo-Gothic Tower was built using a combination of coquina from St. Augustine, Florida, and pink and gray marble from Tate, Georgia. New York sculptor Lee Lawrie’s sculptural carvings adorn the Tower and represent images of Florida’s native flora and fauna as well as nature-based symbolism and stories from Greek mythology and the Bible.
Pinewood Estate
Bok Tower Gardens visitors are swept back in time when they enter Pinewood Estate. It illustrates one of the finest examples of Mediterranean-style architecture in the state of Florida and surrounding grounds designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted Jr. The enchanting 20-room 1930s manor was originally built as the winter retreat of Bethlehem Steel executive C. Austin Buck. Originally named “El Retiro,” Spanish for retreat the home was designed by Charles Wait. The Gardens’ acquired the estate in 1970 and restored the house and grounds.
Self-guided walking tours of Pinewood are offered daily. The tour price is $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 5-12 and is in addition to the regular admission to the Gardens. Children under age 5 are admitted free.
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About Bok Tower Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens, located approximately 55 miles southwest of Orlando and 60 miles east of Tampa, near Lake Wales, Florida, is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., last admission at 5 p.m. The Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12. Members and children under five are admitted free. For more information, call 863.676.1408 or visit www.boktowergardens.org.
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