A to Z
April (2022) Blogging Challenge
Hello, dear
readers!
I’d like to
thank you all in advance for stopping by, and I hope that at least a few on my
list of remarkable buildings pique your interest as they did mine.
“Design is not a coincidence or a
formula; it is a result of human reflection and vision in response to a
specific challenge.” ~ Unknown
S
Singing Tower Carillon
Nearly as fascinating as this 205-foot neo-gothic art deco building is the man who commissioned its creation. Dutch-born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Bok was editor-in-chief of Ladies Home Journal for 30 years, subtly ensconcing his own ideas for American architecture, home furnishings, town buildings, and (if you can believe it) his disdain for women’s suffrage. Nonetheless, of Bok’s autobiography, one reviewer stated (in part) that Bok had been “Aesthetically probably the most useful citizen who ever breathed its muggy air,”
In perhaps a bold move in 1924, Bok’s
wife Mary Louise founded The Curtis Institute of Music in honor of her late
father. Three years later, construction began on Bok’s monument to music and
nature atop Iron Mountain, north of Lake Whales, Florida.
Designed by famed
architect Milton Medary and crafted by noted stone sculptor Lee Lawrie, the
Singing Tower houses one of the world’s finest 60-bell carillons (concerts in
the garden at 1 and 3:pm daily). The
Bells of Singing Tower
Among
historical photos and documents located on Level Two is the original guest
register signed by President Calvin Coolidge and Edward Bok in February of 1929.
Samuel
Yellin, America’s premier metalworker at the time, crafted the Great Brass Door
on the north side of the tower, which depicts the Book of Genesis, starting
with the creation of light and ending with Adam and Eve being ousted from the
garden at the hand-crafted wrought iron gates.
I've added this to my list of things I want to see in Florida! Would you visit?
I had no idea it was in Florida.
ReplyDeleteThere is at least one more carillon tower in Florida, but it is a church (as most are) and doesn't begin with the letter 'S" ;-)
DeleteI like how the tower contrasts with the palm trees and wetlands.
ReplyDeleteI believe Mr. Bok had that thought as well ;-) Besides assorted birds, there are wrought iron fish and frogs - even a serpent - that adorn the building.
DeleteAnother new structure to me. I'd like to see it, but we don't get to Florida that often and when we do we have a specific schedule to which we adhere and it always involves something concerning some of my wife's family members who live down there.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Besides the Hemingway house and however many of his cats remain, this tower is on my list to visit for sure ;-)
Delete