Kaitlin Folsom

Professor Kevin Kennedy

AMH 1020
13 September 2015
Carol On, Carillon: A Trip to the Singing Tower
An overcast sky painted the background to the haunting chimes of the carillon.
The trail, with trees hanging over every turn and flowers blooming along the sides,
slithered toward the heart of the large garden. At the center, standing tall before a
peaceful pond of koi fish and looking out from the highest point in Florida, Bok Tower,
also known as the Singing Tower, looked majestically over the landscape. The encounter
with the carillon was as grandeur and calming like it had been written about in the early
1930s. Bok Tower Gardens is a hidden image of Florida beauty that not only holds
environmental significance, but architectural and tourism history.
Edward Bok, an immigrant from the Netherlands, had a large career in America
that was defined by his humanitarian work, editing and publishing, and influence in
American architecture. He was told by his grandmother to make you the world a bit
better or more beautiful because you have lived in it. In 1921, Bok found the
opportunity to make the simple quote become a reality. While on vacation in Lake Wales,
Bok envisioned the areas ridge298 feet above sea levelas a peaceful bird sanctuary.
To help capture the vision, Bok worked with the well-known landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Olmsted Jr. took on the task of creating a garden sanctuary,
mixing exotic and native plants to emulate a tropical area and provide for a range of
wildlife. To create the symbolic tower that would fuse the landscape image together, Bok

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worked with architect Milton B. Medary and sculptor Lee Lawrie. The result was the
creation of a neo-Gothic and art deco tower, which stood 205 feet and housed a sixty-bell
carillona bell instrument that gave Bok Tower the nickname the Singing Tower.
The significance of the gardens and tower has gone back to the late 1920s. Bok,
showing his thanks toward the American opportunity, presented the gardens to America
on February 1, 1929. President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the gift to the American
people, making it an official National Historic Landmark. It quickly became a tourist
attraction in the 1930s. About eighty-six years later, over 23 million people have visited.
By looking at the visitor comments, people have loved the peaceful getaway from busy
streets and enjoy the intricate design of the tower. Now deemed Americas Taj Mahal
by modern architecture historians, Bok Tower has been one of the structures to mark the
golden age of architecture in America. Apart form its architectural and aesthetic
importance to Floridas pre-Disney tourism, the gardens also have conservation programs
that help research and enhance understanding of native and rare plant species; the facility
keeps the integrity of the gardens by preserving a plethora of beautiful Florida nature.
The trip to this National Historic Landmark was a very enjoyable one. The bell
tower rang peacefully as visitors toured the area, and the multitude of picturesque
landscapes made picture opportunities appear at every angle. The gardens, as they were
intended, were very relaxing to walk through. The show-stopping tower was the jewel of
the trip, even when scaffold covered part of the tile work. The work of art truly is hidden
from large commercial attention, but its story is integral to Floridas early tourism,
architectural history, and modern environmental preservation. It is a place where people
would want to escape to for something calming against everyday bustle.