Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0205Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of a stone tower in font of a body of water, there are several palm trees in view. Above the image "T85 (Star)" is printed, below the image "32313 The Singing Tower, "The Taj Mahal of America." Mountain lake, Florida." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company COPYRIGHTED Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Chicago, Ill., London, England." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
32313
THE SINGING TOWER, AT MOUNTAIN LAKE, FLORIDA
One of the latest and most beautiful creations of American architecture here stands before us; the wonderful Singing Tower, at Moutain 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, Presiden Coolidge making the speeh 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 transtormed 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, constructd of steel and brick, like a skyscraper. The frame is covered with yellow conquina 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 the 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 a delicacy of design particularly adapting it to its semitropical Florida setting. Its crowning glory is the exquisitie carillon of sevnety-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 beaily be heard five miles away.
Copyright by The Keystone View CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection