Bok Tower Gardens

This is a 157 acre woodland garden started by Edward W Bok, a Dutch immigrant, in 1929.

From their website http://www.boktower.org

'Visitors, strolling the many pathways leading to the Tower, enjoy seasonal blooms, friendly animals, and special events throughout the year. The Pine Ridge Preserve offers a one-mile trail where visitors may enjoy the rare plants and animals of Florida's ancient sandhill, as well as the more common longleaf pines and turkey oaks. Window By the Pond nature observatory gives a glimpse of daily life in a freshwater pond.

Pinewood Estate, a 20-room Mediterranean Revival-style villa, is open seasonally. Offering guided tours to the public, the estate stands as one of the finest examples of this type of architecture in the State of Florida.

Other facilities available include the Carillon Cafe, The Tower & Garden Gift Shop, the Education and Visitor Center, several picnic areas, public telephones, complimentary wheelchairs and strollers, rest rooms and rentable mobility vehicles. The Gardens and Pinewood Estate are accessible to visitors who are physically challenged.'

And it's only $6 for adults and $2 for the 5-12s!





Blott

Thanks for the info Blott, sounds good for a visit next time.

Ruth

I've heard that Bok Tower Gardens is closed for the next six months for refurbishment so it sounds as if it should re-open around January 2003.

Blott

BOK TOWERS IS CERTAINLY NOT CLOSED.
The following is an reply, from the Asst Director of Marketing at Bok Towers, to an e-mail I had sent asking for details of the restoration work. ........
As you stroll through the 157-acre Olmsted-designed landscape Gardens
and view the majestic Carillon Tower, you will notice some exciting and important work in process. "This is a wonderful time in the history of Bok Tower Gardens. Because the Gardens will be open daily during the Tower restoration, visitors will be able to watch historic preservation work in progress," says President Robert P. Sullivan.

Construction began in 1927 on Bok Tower; and it was dedicated in 1929 as a gift for the enjoyment of the American people by Edward W. Bok, a
Dutch immigrant. Using Georgia pink and gray marble and coquina quarried in St. Augustine as the exterior covering for its steel framework structure, the 205-foot carillon tower stands on peninsular Florida's highest point.

[Over time the ravages of nature have taken their toll on the tower.
Currently underway is a restoration effort to re-point the marble on the Tower. In many areas the mortar protrudes from the joints between the blocks of marble, and a white streaking called efflorescence is visible.
The re-pointing process will remove existing mortar and replace it with new mortar developed specifically for this project. The efflorescence will be removed using a careful combination of mechanical and chemical cleaning processes. Bok Tower Gardens has selected a team of historic restoration and preservation experts to accomplish this monumental undertaking. This work is being generously funded by a Florida Department of State, Division of Historic Resources matching grant and a bequest of the late Marion Stephenson, a Tower volunteer for more than a decade.]

The current restoration effort follows those in previous decades to
restore, protect and preserve the structure from the constant exposure
to the elements so it can be enjoyed by generations to come. In 1957,
the marble was cleaned and re-pointed, and the coquina was waterproofed.
In 1967 and 1968, the coquina was taken off the corners to expose the
Tower's interior steel structure allowing for the removal of rust and
repainting. An elaborate lightning protection system was added last
year.




Siobhan