Sixty bronze carillon bells collectively weighing more than 63 tons make beautiful music at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. Emanating from the 205-foot pink-and-gray marble bell tower at the gardens, twice-daily concerts feature classical compositions from the 17th through 21st centuries, as well as jazz, pop, country and other music genres.
“Bok Tower Gardens is a serene place of beauty, culture and history, but it is so much more than that,” says Erica Smith, director of marketing and public relations at Bok Tower Gardens. “From our acres of colorful gardens and our carillon tower to El Retiro retreat and Hammock Hollow Children’s Garden, visitors are finding more reasons than ever to visit.”
A Place of Their Own
Several years ago, an area was set aside specifically for children. Fairy doors, whimsical musical instruments, winding paths, edible gardens and interactive activities pique the interest of youngsters yearning to explore nature hands-on.
“Hammock Hollow’s 3 acres include touch-and-feel activities, so children can experience the different textures of plants, and they can taste the plants in the edible section,” Erica says. “We also host programming—from planting to arts and crafts projects related to gardening—to help them learn where their food comes from.”
The River Walk section’s interactive water fountain area, where children can climb and play, mimics Florida’s geology. The Fairy House Trail opens a new world of fantasy, and the Frog Hop promotes being active. Sabal Stage encourages role-playing.
“In addition to giving children a place of their own, Hammock Hollow teaches them about nature and conservation,” Erica says. “The premise is discovery-based learning and an appreciation for natural beauty.”
A larger-than-life bird’s nest, complete with artist-created sand jay eggs, welcomes children to enter. Near the Visitors Center, Hammock Hollow features an outdoor kitchen and a discovery center.
Revisit a 1930s-era Florida Estate
Known in the 1930s as El Retiro, the former winter home of Bethlehem Steel executive S. Austin Buck, is open for self-guided tours.
The gardens acquired the 20-room, 12,900-square-foot retreat in the 1970s and restored the house and grounds, then known as Pinewood Estate. The name was changed back to El Retiro, the Spanish word for retreat.
“El Retiro is an excellent example of Mediterranean-style architecture with thick walls, a barrel-tile roof, carved doors, extensive woodwork and detailed wrought iron,” Erica says. “It’s a perfect complement to Bok Tower Gardens.”
Many of the furnishings in the home are original.
“A visit to El Retiro is truly a step back in time,” she says.
An Immigrant’s Gratitude
Nearly 100 years ago, Edward W. Bok conceived of a garden sanctuary to leave a legacy of thanks to his adopted country, the United States. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, humanitarian and publisher of Ladies’ Home Journal after emigrating from the Netherlands at age 6.
Edward and his wife, Mary Louise Curtis, lived most of the year in Philadelphia, but the couple wintered in Central Florida’s Mountain Lake, about 10 miles from the site of today’s Bok Tower Gardens. In 1921, Edward climbed the tallest hill near his winter home, bought the land and commissioned famed New York City landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to create a wildlife sanctuary and garden. Work began in 1924.
“Olmsted designed the gardens to be both a retreat and an informal woodland setting with beautiful vistas, peaceful resting places and a constantly changing work of art by planting acres of ferns, palms, pines and oaks,” Erica says. “Against that lush backdrop, he brought in azaleas, camellias and magnolias for seasonal color.”
During the next several years, Edward enlisted other well-known architects, artisans and craftspeople to help refine his vision.
The Crown Jewel
Perhaps the most important element of the gardens, the carillon tower, was added late in the process, with construction beginning in 1927 and completed in late 1928.
Philadelphia architect Milton B. Medary was commissioned to design the tower. His firm had designed the Justice Department building in Washington, D.C., and the Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge.
“Bok’s project gave Medary the opportunity to blend Gothic architecture with elements that represented nature, including coquina stone from St. Augustine, pink-and-gray marble from Tate, Georgia, sculptures and a brass door designed by metalworker Samuel Yellin,” Erica says. “The tower became an incredible work of art created by some of the best craftspeople of the day.”
The tile grills covering the openings of the bell chamber were conceived by the founder of Enfield Pottery and Tileworks, J.H. Dulles Allen. He designed open panels showing native birds, animals, trees, turtles and human figures in shades of turquoise, cobalt and neutral colors.
Since the gardens opened, four carillonneurs have brought the Bok Tower carillon to life. Edward selected the first, and longest-serving musician, Belgium-born Anton Brees, to be the bell master beginning in 1929—first performing at the dedication on February 1, 1929. Anton served as carillonneur until his death in 1967.
“Brees performed around the globe and helped bring attention to Bok Tower Gardens and our fine carillon,” Erica says. “It has an excellent reputation around the world.”
In 2012, another Belgium-born carillonneur, Geert D’hollander, was chosen to carry on the tradition.
A Musical Heritage
The Bok carillon was the first in Florida. It’s also the tallest. Two others exist: the 61-bell, 157-foot-tall Century Tower at the University of Florida in Gainesville and the 97-bell, 200-foot Stephen Foster Memorial Carillon at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs.
“As the centerpiece of our 250-acre gardens, the carillon and its music contribute to our beauty, culture and heritage,” Erica says. “It’s hard to describe. For people visiting the first time, the sounds of the carillon and the beautiful surroundings are almost ethereal. Unless you’ve traveled overseas, you’re not very familiar with the carillon.”
She is quick to point out that a carillon is a musical instrument invented in the 16th century in what is now Belgium.
“Many people mistakenly believe that it’s a bell tower with chimes or that they can ascend its 205 feet for distant views of central Florida, but it is a fine musical instrument,” Erica says. “In fact, carillons are the largest musical instruments in the world.”
Carillons are played on a keyboard and with foot pedals. Twice daily, the carillon bells ring out in 30-minute concerts, performed from inside the bell tower. The bells also play on the hour and the half-hour.
Bok Tower Gardens Today
Edward’s vision of honoring his adopted country with a native garden, wildlife refuge and musical showplace has brought more than 23 million visitors from around the world to Central Florida.
It is in Lake Wales, on one of the highest points on the Florida peninsula, and features more than 200 acres of gardens and hiking trails. Combined with the height of the hill on which it sits, the top of the tower is 295 feet above sea level. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated site on the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Throughout the year, workshops include birdhouse-making, painting, edible landscaping and specialized guided botanical and garden tours.
Daily carillon concerts—typically featuring classical music—are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
For more information, visit boktowergardens.org or call 863-676-1408.
Making Joyful Sounds
The first time carillonneur Geert D’hollander played the Bok Tower carillon was in 1980. He and his father, also a carillonneur, traveled from their native Belgium to Lake Wales to experience the renowned instrument. Geert was 17 years old at the time.
“As a child, I often accompanied my father, Joseph, to work as he played the carillons of historic European bell towers,” he says. “When I turned 13, I decided I wanted to learn to play the carillon, so I enrolled in the Royal Carillon School in Mechlin, Belgium, where my father taught. I graduated at age 17, and my father flew me to Florida and Bok Tower that same year. He said he wanted me to experience the world’s most beautiful carillon.”
During that trip in the 1980s, both father and son performed on the world-famous 60-bell carillon before heading home.
Twenty-two years later, Geert returned to Winter Park, this time as Bok’s fourth carillonneur. He readily admits he’s glad that Bok Tower has an elevator.
“After 25 years of climbing steps in European bell towers, I was definitely ready for an elevator,” he says. “Playing the carillon—we play with our fists instead of our fingers—is very physical, but sometimes climbing the steps is harder than playing.”