Mountain Lake Colony House

The Mountain Lake Estates Historic District is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on August 26, 1993), located north of Lake Wales, Florida, off the FL 17 (formerly US 27A) Scenic Highway. Mountain Lake Estates was first developed in the 1920s as an exclusive residential area created "to attract the nation's business elite". The developers hired Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to design the community. Such wealthy and widely known people as Edward W. Bok (long-time editor of Ladies' Home Journal and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author), August Heckscher (benefactor of the Heckscher Museum of Art), and Irving T. Bush (of Bush Terminal, Bush Tower, and Bush House fame) subsequently became early "snowbirds" and established winter homes in or near Mountain Lake Estates.The district contains 65 historic buildings, including two previously listed on the National Register: El Retiro Estate (today renamed "Pinewood" and part of the landmark Bok Tower Gardens) and Mountain Lake Colony House. Noted architect Wallace Neff, known for his celebrity clients' mansions in southern California (see for example Pickfair), designed one home within Mountain Lakes Estates, one of his few commissions outside California.Mission Revival, Colonial Revival, and other "revival" styles of architecture are most common. House lots within the historic district can be sizable; as an example, Irving T. Bush's estate covered five acres (about 2 hectares).

El Retiro (also known as Encierro and as Pinewood Estate) is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853. The 12,900 square foot house was designed by architect Charles R. Wait for the original owner, Charles Austin Buck. The design specified a "barrel-tile roof, thick walls, substantial carved doors and woodwork, and intricately detailed wrought iron ... and three large porches". The gardens were designed by William Lyman Phillips of the Olmsted Brothers firm. The work on the property was completed in 1929-1930. Buck owned the home until 1947. It was purchased by Nellie Lee Holt Bok in 1970 and renamed Pinewood Estate. A subsequent restoration of the gardens, to their original design, was completed by landscape architect Rudy Favretti. Since 1970, the estate has been part of Bok Tower Gardens, and is again known as El Retiro. Visitors to the adjacent Bok Tower Gardens may tour the home for an extra fee. On December 12, 1985, the 20 room home was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The Anton Brees Carillon Library, located within the Singing Tower at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Florida, is home to various collections that document the history and development of the Singing Tower and its gardens, the historic Pinewood Estate, and The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. It also contains many sources on carillon art in general.

Bok Tower Gardens is a 250-acre (100 ha) contemplative garden and bird sanctuary located atop Iron Mountain, north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States, created by Edward Bok in the 1920s. Formerly known as the Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, the gardens' attractions include the Singing Tower and its 60-bell carillon, the Bok Exedra, the Pinewood Estate now known as El Retiro, the Pine Ridge Trail, and the Visitor Center. Bok Tower Gardens is a National Historic Landmark. The 205-foot (62 m) Singing Tower was built upon one of the highest points of peninsular Florida, estimated to be 295 feet (90 m) above sea level, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The national significance of the gardens and its tower come from their associations with Edward W. Bok and his team of designers. The adjacent Pinewood Estate is separately listed on the National Register as El Retiro. Bok Tower Gardens is open daily and an admission fee is charged.

Iron Mountain is one of the highest points in peninsular Florida, United States and a prominent point of the Lake Wales Ridge. Rising 295 feet (90 m) above sea level, The mountain contains citronelle, a hematite-containing rock that oxidizes when exposed to air and is responsible for the red-brown color of the earth. The ridge is located just north of the city of Lake Wales. The tower of Bok Tower Gardens is built on the summit.

Grassy Lake Preserve officially known as Mountain Lake Cut-Off is 185 acres (0.75 km2) of preserve purchased by the State of Florida in 2003 for $2.1 million to protect eight rare species of plants and one rare species of animal. It is located at U.S. 27 and Mountain Lake Cut-Off Road in Lake Wales, Florida) The property is managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as part of a network of preserves along the Lake Wales Ridge. The preserve is located behind Janie Howard Wilson Elementary School.

Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census.

The Lake of the Hills Community Club is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It is located at 47 East Starr Avenue. On March 24, 2000, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Chalet Suzanne (once known as the Carleton Club) is a historic site in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 3800 Chalet Suzanne Drive. On July 24, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.Originally envisioned as a magnificent residential resort appealing to people who enjoyed golf and tennis, the Carleton Club was a vision of cheese baron James L. Kraft and Carl and Bertha Hinshaw. Kraft soon bowed out of the enterprise. When Carl Hinshaw died in 1931, Bertha Hinshaw opened her home as a restaurant and inn to travelers, serving exotic recipes on fine china that she had gathered around the world. Among those who visited and helped to publicize the restaurant and inn was Duncan Hines. Other famous guests have included Burt Reynolds, Dinah Shore, Robert Redford, Johnny Carson, Kevin Costner and Don Johnson.In 1943 the Chalet was largely destroyed by fire. Hinshaw quickly rebuilt it using salvaged parts from the horse stables, a game room, servants’ quarters and a chicken house. This unusual design had 14 different levels. In 1956, Carl Hinshaw Jr. opened a cannery on the property for the restaurant's famous soups, including their signature romaine. The soups became very popular, selling worldwide. Chalet Suzanne soup went with the astronauts to the moon during the Apollo 15 and 16 flights.The Chalet has been featured in many publications, among them The New Yorker, Vogue, Life, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, Forbes and Time magazines. Bertha Louise Hinshaw died in 1973 at the age of 90; the Chalet continues under the ownership and management of the Hinshaw family. On July 10, 2014, it was announced that with the retirement of the Hinshaw family, the Chalet would close on or about August 4. The business and property are up for sale as a result. In May 2016, current owners Eric and Dee Hinshaw stated they had turned down offers from property developers who wanted to build houses in the hopes that someone with a "grand vision for the property" would purchase it. It currently serves as a faith-based addiction rehabilitation center for men called Refuge on the Ridge. The Hinshaws, who still live on the property, were inspired to put the property to this use after their own son's successful addiction rehabilitation through a similar program in south Florida.

Lake Wales High School is a high school located in Lake Wales, Florida, serving the city of Lake Wales and nearby communities such as Frostproof, Dundee, and Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of Lake Wales Charter Schools.

The Roosevelt School (also known as the Roosevelt Academy) is a historic school in Lake Wales, Florida. It is located at 115 E Street. On March 29, 2001, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Originally this school served the African-American Community or the Northwest community in Lake Wales. Currently it is an ESE vocational school specifically designed to teach and train students in grades 6–12 with learning disabilities to adapt and excel in society Roosevelt School - This school was completed in 1937 and named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Classes were held for grades 1 - 9. In 1939, it became a full-fledged senior high school. In May 1940 the first commencement exercises were held with 13 students being granted diplomas. In 1950, the addition of Unit G was made; in 1955, Units A, B, D, E, were added and the gymnasium was constructed in 1957. Enrollment during the 1960s reached over 1,300. Roosevelt served African-American students from Frostproof as well as Lake Wales.Roosevelt Academy - In the early 1980s Roosevelt was converted to a vocational school and is part of the Polk County School System. http://schools.polk-fl.net/rooseveltacademy/

Spook Hill is a gravity hill, an optical illusion in Lake Wales, Florida, where cars appear to roll up the spooky hill. Spook Hill is located on the Lake Wales Ridge, a geologically significant range of sand and limestone hills, which were islands from two to three million years ago, when sea levels were much higher than at present. The attraction is adjacent to Spook Hill Elementary School, which adopted Casper The Friendly Ghost as their school mascot. The attraction is also close to the Bok Tower. Spook Hill received national media attention when an article about it appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on October 25, 1990, and it was featured in a segment on CBS Morning News with Charles Osgood on November 5, 1990. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.