EXPLORING HISTORIC BOK TOWER GARDENS

from Florida Country Magazine - June / July 2022

by Florida Country Magazine

SILVER SPRINGS STATE PARK

‘SPOT OF BEAUTY SECOND TO NONE’ IN CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

Written by: Dave Kelly

The beauty of Florida is all around us. We see it in the vastness of the Everglades and the sweep of sandy beaches.

But did you know that Central Florida is home to mountains as well?

The Mountain Lake Sanctuary, just outside of Lake Wales, lays claim to Iron Mountain, one of the highest points in peninsular Florida at almost 300 feet and home to historic Bok Tower.

Park namesake Edward William Bok, editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, was born in the Netherlands in 1863. After coming to the United States at age 6, Bok worked in New York as a young man in the publishing industry, and in 1886 he founded The Bok Syndicate Press, which took over editorship of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1889. Under his management, it became a national sensation and the first magazine in the world to have over one million subscribers. His success afforded Bok the opportunity to champion social causes and become an environmental activist.

As a noted philanthropist, Bok established numerous civic awards. But none of his projects were to impact Florida as much as his creation in 1925 of The American Foundation, known today as Bok Tower Gardens. When it was purchased in 1922 as a 14-acre site atop Iron Mountain, Bok hired renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and commissioned him to build “a spot of beauty second to none in the country.”

Future land purchases expanded the area into the 70-acre garden that it is today.

Bok expressed gratitude for the opportunities in his new country by presenting the Gardens as a gift to the American people, and on February 1, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge was on hand to dedicate them. They have since welcomed more than 23 million visitors.

Remarkably Landscaped Gardens

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. began work on the Gardens in 1923, devoting the next six years of his life to their design and implementation. After graduating from Harvard, Olmsted collaborated with his father, who had designed New York City’s Central Park, and together they landscaped many of Washington, D.C.’s most prominent landmarks, including the White House, Jefferson Memorial, and others. During his years in Central Florida, Olmsted transformed Iron Mountain’s sandy terrain into one of the nation’s most exquisite garden sanctuaries by planting a mix of native and exotic flora that would thrive in the humid Florida climate and lend a tropical feel to the local oak hammock of the area. Pathways on today’s Olmsted Walking Tour wind through the remarkably landscaped gardens while leading up to the “Singing Tower” on the mountain. Reaching the top, a majestic view of the entire Tower is revealed in the Reflection Pool, highlighting one of Florida’s most photographed sites.

PITCHED-PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT

This Singing Tower itself is the centerpiece of the Bok Tower Gardens experience. Made of pink marble and coquina shell, the 205-foot-tall Neo-Gothic and Art Deco Singing Tower houses a 60-bell carillon, a pitched-percussion instrument played with a keyboard but consisting of a series of bells. Unlike most bells, they do not actually swing to ring. Instead, they are rung by a clapper on the inside of each bell, which is controlled by an instrument lower in the tower called a clavier, a mechanism that works much like a piano but is played by both the hands (in a closed fist) and the feet.

The largest bell, called the Bourdon, weighs over 11 tons and has a diameter of over eight feet, while the smallest weighs just 16 pounds. Total weight of the bells alone is over 62 tons, yet the sound of the music played is gentle and light.

The Carillon rings on the hour while the park is open. Additionally, a clavier player called a Carillionneur sits in the tower and plays special music at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. during performance season. Amazingly, there have only been four full-time carillionneurs in the 94 years that the Gardens have been open.

The sweet sound of the bells rings out over Florida’s Central Highlands and brings solace and grace to the entire area. In addition to the carillonneur’s recitals each day, Bok Tower Gardens often features live concerts.

Bok Tower Gardens features Hammock Hollow Children’s Garden, a world of adventure that incorporates cooling water features, vibrant plantings, a boardwalk, play areas, and plenty of space for the young-at-heart to build, dig, create and explore.

Other Exciting Things To Do

There are other features at Bok Tower Gardens that tourists can visit. For example, El Retiro at Pinewood is a historic 20-room Mediterranean-style mansion from the 1930s. This National Historic Place sits on over seven acres of lush landscaping and is available for tours.

Additionally, Bok Tower Gardens features Hammock Hollow Children’s Garden, a world of adventure that incorporates cooling water features, vibrant plantings, a boardwalk, play areas, and plenty of space for the young-at-heart to build, dig, create and explore.

The Café Kitchen & Outdoor Garden features over 6,000 square feet of culinary delight and includes a wood-fired pizza oven. Attached are a fruit orchard, grape arbors and raised beds for herbs and vegetables used in the adjacent Blue Palmetto Café’s menu recipes.

The Window on the Pond is a small observatory overlooking a Florida bog where visitors can watch birds, reptiles, butterflies and other animals undisturbed in their natural habitat. Other lush and tranquil areas are a part of this magical spot, including the Wildflower Garden, the Peace Lantern and a charming visitor center and giftshop at the gate.

Edward Bok passed away in 1930 within sight of his beloved Singing Tower and is buried at its base. To this day, when you walk the property, you can feel his words: “Wherever your lives may be cast, make the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it.” FCM