The life story of Edward Bok is a fascinating read. The Bok Tower and Gardens of central Florida, near Lake Wales, were his final endowment to leave the world a more beautiful place.
The book The Edward Bok Legacy (available in the bookstore) begins: The purpose of it all? To preach the gospel and influence of beauty…where visitors may feel…as the sign at the entrance declares: “I come here to find myself. It is so easy to get lost in the world.”
Son of an immigrant from Holland in 1870, Bok was an ambitious young man who made a point of introducing himself to famous people of the day, including General Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. President Hayes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Later, as editor of The Ladies Home Journal magazine he championed several contentious public campaigns, from banning the sale of fashionable egret feathers to the dangers of venereal disease.
In the latter part of his life – he believed a man should divide his life into Education, Achievement and Service – he developed the concept and construction of Bok Tower Gardens, gathering some of the nation’s greatest talent to do so.
Design of the tower went to prizewinning Philadelphia architect Milton Medary. He immersed himself in the project, seeking inspiration in the architecture of Greece, Persia, India and China.
The result is a “Singing Tower” that rises gracefully above a 250 acre garden created on “Iron Mountain”, one of peninsular Florida’s highest points, by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.
The tower is a work of art, from an enormous underground concrete base through it’s solid girth stretching upward in graceful Gothic patterns to a 205-foot / 62.5 meter tiled and sculptured top. The tower’s soft colour palette is due to a facing of pink Georgia marble and tan Florida cochina ashlar rock from Daytona Beach. Vibrant mosaic tiles complete the façade. Entry is through the great Golden Door, a rendition of the biblical Creation in 30 panels of hammered (repousse) brass by premier metalworker Samuel Yellin.
Dedicated February 1, 1929, Bok Tower’s carillon is automated to play several times daily. You will need ear plugs if caught on the balcony at the hour or half hour. Sixty bells weighing in at 124,000 pounds / 56,245 kilograms were cast in Loughborough, England, shipped to Jacksonville FL, then transferred by special train to the site.
A small army of dedicated volunteers preserve this unique heritage. No matter how you view it, the tower is undeniably, monumentally impressive.
PHOTOS
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Story and photos copyright © Gary Crallé 2013. No commercial reproduction without written consent.
Bok Tower Gardens www.boktowergardens.org
Central Florida Tourism www.visitcentralflorida.org
