Classic Cracker: Florida's Wood-Frame Vernacular Architecture

by Ronald W. Haase

Winner of the 1993 LoPresti Award for excellence in art publishing Cracker homes take the best advantage of the climate and terrain of Florida. This book provides a history of Florida wood-frame architecture, from the simplest "single-pen" homesteads to the latest homes at Seaside, and includes several floor plans for new adaptations of classic Cracker architecture. Learn about the double-pen house, the classic dogtrot, the four-square Georgian, the Cracker townhouse, and much more with this exploration of Florida's orginal architecture. Includes several floor plans for new adaptations of classic Cracker architecture.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction

114 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a great book full of good information including ample photos and line drawings of traditional Florida wood-frame vernacular architecture. The author is probably the greatest living authority on Florida Cracker architecture, having researched, taught and even built (he's a practicing architect as well as a professor at the University of Florida) the style for years. My only complaint is how slim the book is: given that it's the only volume dedicated to its topic, it seems it could have been twice as long and had a greater photographic survey of examples. That said, it's the best we've got.

[Hansel5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this title at CPL and put it in my queue.

Pretty straightforward and in layman's terms survey of this typology which is vernacular in Northern Florida. I like the simplicity of these houses, the fact that they are mostly hand-built, and the fact that they serve in combating the climatic extremes of the region: a mild winter and the summer humidity.

Surpised to find the many types there are. I enjoyed it.