Trifter

Back in 1921 a Dutch immigrant and his wife spent the winter in Lake Wales, Florida and decided to create a bird sanctuary on what we call Iron Mountain (where I now live just a stone’s throw away). The site is the highest point in the state’s peninsula at 295 feet above sea level. That man was Edward W. Bok, publisher and editor of the Ladies Home Journal magazine and the spot he picked out was about as barren as a desert.
His little sanctuary would become known as Bok Tower Gardens, home of the Singing Tower. He was inspired to create this little paradise by the words of his grandmother who told him, “Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you’ve lived in it.” It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The project more or less blossomed and by the time he finished he had planted 1,000 grown live oak trees, l00 sabal palms, 300 magnolia trees and hundreds of gardenia, azalea and other blooming plants berries and hollys. The site is home to more than 100 bird species and is well known for its large squirrel population. Be prepared to feed them for they have no fear of humans and are artful beggars. Numerous swans call the gardens home but Bok was unsuccessful in his effort to establish a colony of flamingos due to the lower temperatures during the winter months in this part of the state. A three-quarter mile nature trail includes a bog garden, an open glade and a sandhill community.

image via city of Lake Wales

The 205 foot tall tower was started in 1927 and completed two years later and houses a 60-bell carillon. The smallest bell weighs 17 pounds while the largest tops the scale at 12 tons. There are two afternoon concerts and brief recordings throughout the day. Construction was from pink and gray marble mined in Georgia and coquina from Daytona Beach. A koi moat surrounds the structure that features a reflective pool large enough to capture the entire tower.

image via city of Lake Wales

Although entry to the bell chamber is not open to the public it contains the largest carillon library in the world and is guarded by a magnificent ornate gold door.

image via wikipedia

Eight acres of the gardens were set aside for Bok’s winter residence known as Pinewood Estate, a 20-room Mediterranean Revival mansion. Bok called it El Retiro.

Many outdoor events are held at the gardens throughout the year ranging from symphony orchestra concerts, to jazz music and folk festivals. Twice each year the Florida Syphony Orchestra teams up with the carilloneer for a Concert In The Park event…the most popular of all.

We locals know a little something about the tower’s construction that we don’t tell the tourists. Bok did not build it to house the carillon bells. He built it to disguise what he considered to be an ugly water tower used to provide pressure to his irrigation system. The carillon was an afterthought when electricity elimated the need for the overhead water tank.

President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the gardens in February of 1929. Bok died less than a year later. He is buried at the base of his beloved tower.