Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens. Photo by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
Perhaps one of the most unusual tourist attractions I have ever visited is the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida. Was I allowed to go up to the top and see the sprawling landscape of Central Florida below? No. Was I able to go inside at all? No. So what is the purpose of a tower in the middle of nowhere that you can’t enter? I’m still not entirely sure. But millions of tourists from all over the world visit this landmark listed in the National Registry of Historic Places in America.
Built in the Gothic Revival style, the Singing Tower was designed by the architect Milton Bennett Medary (1864-1929) of the architecture firm Zantzinger, Borie & Medary. It was completed in 1929 and dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) in February of that year.
“The main purpose of this sanctuary and tower is to preach the gospel of beauty,” President Coolidge said in his speech. He also underscored the importance of the facility’s motto, quoting the American naturalist John Burroughs, who said, “I come here to find myself. It is so easy to get lost in the world.”
The koi pond moat around the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens. Photo by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
Bok Tower Gardens. Photo by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
Singing Tower Sundial at Bok Tower Gardens. On it is engraved, “This Singing Tower with its adjacent sanctuary was dedicated and presented to the American People by Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States, February the First, Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-Nine.” Photo by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
The tranquil facility was the vision of Edward William Bok (1863-1930), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and editor. He was originally born in the city of Den Helder in the Netherlands and is now buried at the base of the tower.
Located south of Orlando and east of Tampa, the Singing Tower is perched atop Iron Mountain on a 250-acre nature preserve and bird sanctuary. I have seen a lot of towers on castles, cathedrals and fortresses, but usually they are set in moodier light. The Florida sunshine seems to dance electric on its pink and gray marble stone surface, giving it a bright glow that makes it all the more stunning to view in person. The tower itself is an undeniably beautiful structure that houses a founder’s room at the base, the Chao Research archives, a workshop, the Anton Brees Carillon Library, a carillon (instrument) studio and a bell chamber.
I’m not sure if I will ever return to Bok Tower Gardens, without an invitation to photograph the interior of the Singing Tower, but all things considered, I’m glad I did see it.
– Michael Aaron Gallagher
Architectural model of the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens. Photo by Michael Aaron Gallagher.