Bok Tower

Our friend Leslie has been talking to us about visiting Bok Tower Gardens ever since we got to Florida. Her family often came here when she was a child. A National Historic Landmark, it is located near Lake Wales. It is about halfway from where we are at Peace River RV Park and Mouse Mountain RV Park where they are parked, so we decided to meet up there this afternoon.

Built between 1927 and 1929, the was built to house the Edward Bok family carillon and serve as a centerpiece for the extensive gardens. It is 205 feet tall and weighs 5500 TONS!

There is a moat that surrounds the Tower, full of huge koi.

When she was a little girl, Leslie says there were swans in the moat that defended the marble border around the water -- they didn't bother you if you stayed on the brick walkway, but if you stepped on the marble, watch out! The docent told us that the swans finally got so aggressive that they had to be removed...

The tower is made of brick with an outer facing of pink and gray Georgia marble and Florida coquina, a limestone of shell and coral fragments.

All of the carving was done on site by Lee Lawrie of New York City.

This is the view looking out from the hill on which Bok Tower is built. The hill that it is built on is the highest elevation in Florida!

Looking back at the Tower from the edge of the hill --

This is the brass door going into the Tower (not open to the public) --

The door, by Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia, depicts the Biblical story of Creation --

The grillwork near the top of the Tower has colorful ceramic tiles --

 
Since it was still the holidays, the carillon played a Christmas song every half hour. The carillon has 60 bronze bells ranging in weight from 16 pounds to eleven plus tons! At 3 PM we enjoyed a half hour concert that ranged from Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring to Let Me Call You Sweetheart and Over There.

After the concert, we spent several hours exploring the gardens (I'll share some of those pictures tomorrow..!) and then went into Lake Wales for dinner at Norby's. Not much to look at, I doubt if we'd have gone into the place if it hadn't been for some great -- and very accurate -- reviews. The appetizer we ordered, Horsey Bites, was so good, we could have made a meal of it. The medium rare pieces of Filet Mignon on toast rounds topped with little mounds of horseradish were delicious!