Saturday, February 1, 2014

Bok Tower...

Started off with another very overcast day today, however things warmed up very nicely to over 80 deg. F. by this afternoon.

We decided to take Tom and Cheryl up to Lake Wales this afternoon to check out the Bok Tower. I blogged about this spot last year, so this may seem like a repeat to you. At least they had free admission today, and they had a nice size crowd out to enjoy the Gardens and Tower. Check out the reflecting pool below...

The Tower was built in the late 1920's and dedicated in 1929 by Pres. Calvin Coolidge. Edward Bok donated the land and Tower, which is built on the highest point in Florida, at just over 300 feet above sea level, to be enjoyed by the people of America.

There are lots of gardens, and they are spectacular.

We caught up with the Gator that we were looking for the other day on the Peace River....

I found this plaque on a Palm Tree in the Gardens. I remembered it from last year. A bit of history here!

Walking around the grounds, you feel like you are in a jungle... very tropical, just needs some monkeys.

At the very top of this tower, is a 60 bell Clarion, and it is used for live Concerts to this day. Tower is made of marble.

On the grounds of the Tower, is a home that used to belong to Mr. Buck, the President of Bethlehem Steel, back in the roaring 20's. He came here for his summer holidays, and they have maintained this home to this date in original condition. All the furniture inside was used by him.

It is a very impressive old home, and great to walk through...

There are a bunch of gardens around the house as well, with lots of flowers... very well maintained.

Somebody has lots of time on their hands to make orange trees look like this...

Till tomorrow...

 

5 comments:

  1. What an interesting place to explore! I had to look twice at the gator shot! LOL

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the tour, John, looked like a fun place to visit.

    I always thought that Splash Mountain in Disney World was the highest point in Florida so thanks for setting me straight.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful tour, John and Judy. We love gardens! It seems you are again having a fantastic winter with lots of activities and new sights. Cheers and best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Enjoyed the tour today, thanks for taking us along.

    ReplyDelete