Old Florida: Florida's Magnificent Homes, Gardens and Vintage Attractions

by Steve Gross, Susan Daley, Patrick Smith (Introduction)

An exploration of the great architecture, homes, and gardens of late nineteenth-century Florida captures a diverse array of styles, ranging from the opulent and ornate mansions of the very rich to charming, country-style cottages, including Thomas Edison's winter home, the Italian villa Vizcaya, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's simple cottage. 12,000 first printing.

Genres: Architecture, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2003

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was a little put off by how there were only two or three pages for each location, but the more I went through the book, the more I appreciated it. This allowed the author to truly capture the myriad expressions of Florida. Florida is big. There isn't just one style -- there are many. This book is a little bit of an impressionistic painting where you have little blobs of each different type of style, but when you look back and see it as a whole, you actually get a clearer picture. The scope scans from the majesty of Mar-a-Lago to the simplicity of some of the Cracker cabins. It encompasses the lush, verdant foliage from the southern end, the sandy wind-shorn landscape of the beaches, up to the dusty Spanish moss and oak at the northern end. This book truly captures Florida at all its angles.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book years ago right before Borders Book Shop went out of business back in 2011 and I’m glad I did! I think this book is what jump-started my exploration section of my brain and pushed me to want to visit and learn more of Florida’s most famous historical sites. Pretty much the majority of the sites featured in this book forms a tapestry of what Florida is: a diversity of styles in art and architecture. There’s something for everyone here. Go and explore.