Bok Tower

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Dublin Core

Title

Bok Tower

Alternative Title

Bok Tower

Subject

Lake Wales (Fla.)
Gardens--United States
Tourism--Florida

Description

Bok Tower, located at 1151 Tower Boulevard in Lake Wales, Florida. These images were taken by Russell Moore in 2010.

Edward Bok (1863-1930) retired to the town of Lake Wales, located south of Orlando. Bok set out a plan to establish a natural garden and bird sanctuary where people to visit to quietly enjoy nature. He engaged Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. (1870-1957) to design the grounds and asked architect Milton Bennett Medary (1874-1929) to design and build a carillon tower. Lee Lawrie (1877-1963), a noted sculptor from New York, designed the elaborate marble sculpture that adorns the tower. Work was completed in 1928 and on February 1, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Sanctuary. Bok died less than a year later in 1930 and was buried at the foot of the tower.

The tower and the carillon housed inside is Bok Tower Gardens' most distinctive feature. The carillon consists of 60 bells, ranging in size from 16 pounds to just under 12 tons. The bells are played like an organ with the keys connected to the clappers of each bell. Bok Tower has had only three regular carillonneurs in its more than 70 years. The Sanctuary's first carillonneur was Anton Brees, serving as the only carillonneur from 1928 until 1967. Milford Myhre has been the resident carillonneur since 1968. William De Turk has been the assistant carillonneur since 1993. De Turk is also the librarian of the Anton Brees Carillon Library, which is reportedly the largest and most comprehensive carillon library in the world.

Creator

Moore, Russell

Source

Original color digital images by Russell Moore, March 7, 2010: Private Collection of Russell Moore.

Date Created

2010-03-07

Is Part Of

Lake Wales Collection, Polk County Collection. RICHES of Central Florida.

Format

image/jpg

Extent

1.3 MB
1.62 MB
2.25 MB
1.95 MB
2.11 MB
2.58 MB
2.5 MB
2.47 MB
2.84 MB
2.72 MB
1.74 MB
2.38 MB
2.47 MB
2.23 MB
1.66 MB
2.42 MB

Medium

16 color digital images

Language

eng

Type

Still Image

Coverage

Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida

Accrual Method

Donation

Mediator

History Teacher
Geography Teacher

Provenance

Originally created by Russell Moore.

Rights Holder

Copyright to this resource is held by Russell Moore and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Contributing Project

Curator

Cepero, Laura

Digital Collection

External Reference

"About Bok Tower Gardens." Bok Tower Gardens. http://boktowergardens.org/.
"Bok Tower Gardens," Floridata, http://www.floridata.com/tracks/GardenGallery/bok/bok1.cfm.
Bok Tower Gardens (Lake Wales, Fla.). Bok Tower Gardens. Lake Wales, Fla: Bok Tower Gardens Foundation, 1981.
Bok Tower Gardens (Lake Wales, Fla.). The Bok Tower Gardens Newsletter. Lake Wales, FL: The Gardens, 1980.
Smith, Margaret. The Edward Bok Legacy: A History of Bok Tower Gardens: The First Fifty Years. Lake Wales, Fla: Bok Tower Gardens Foundation, 2002.

Transcript

THIS SINGING TOWER WITH ITS ADJACENT SANCTUARY WAS DEDICATED AND PRESENTED FOR VISITATION TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY CALVIN COOLIDGE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY THE FIRST NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE

Citation

Moore, Russell, “Bok Tower,” RICHES, accessed November 10, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/5071.

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