The Singing Tower


The singing tower, "The Taj Mahal of America," Mountain Lake, Florida. One of the latest and most beautiful creations of American architecture here stands before us; the wonderful Singing Tower, at Mountain Lake, Florida. It was erected by Edward W. Bok and presented by him to the American people as an enduring example of American creative skill and craftsmanship, President Coolidge making the speech of dedication. The tower stands in the very center of Florida, near Lake Wales, and upon the highest spot in the state, 324 feet above sea level. Fifty acres of land around it have been transformed by landscape architecture from a dreary waste of sand into a luxuriant garden, frequented by song birds. The tower itself, which is often referred to as the "Taj Mahal of America," is 205 feet high, constructed of steel and brick, like a skyscraper. The frame is covered with yellow coquina rock, composed of shells, which is found on the Florida coast, while the lacelike trimmings and the elaborate carvings are of pink Georgia marble. The whole structure is very suggestive of ancient bell towers of Europe, such as those in Mr. Bok's native country, the Netherlands, and the ones at Malines and Bruges, Belgium. But it is treated with delicacy of design particularly adapting it to its semitropical Florida setting. Its crowing glory is its exquisite carillon of seventy one bells, the largest weighing twelve tons, the smallest, seventeen pounds. These bells do not swing, like the bells of a chime, but are fixed to their supports. Each day at sunset and on Sundays at noon, a concert is given on the carillon by one of the world's most distinguished carillonneurs, Mr. Anton Brees. The bells can easily be heard five miles away.

Photographer:	Unknown	Date:	Unknown
Publisher & City:	Keystone View Company: Meadville, Pa., New York, NY., Chicago, Ill., London, England
Series & Number:	32313

Scan courtesy of Roy Winkelman. Image retouched and converted to anaglyph in 2005 by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. View this image using 3D glasses with the blue lens over the left eye and the red lens over the right eye.


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