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

Although today Florida is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, many of the architectural landmarks that reflect its colorful and diverse history remain unknown. An adventuresome group of pioneers were drawn to the uncharted and exotic landscape of late
nineteenth-century Florida, creating buildings of extraordinary imagination and beauty. Since then Florida has experienced a century of remarkable architecture, from the ornate Italian villa Vizcaya to the Venetian Pool of Coral Gables to the Art Deco hotels of South Beach to the the Ringling Museum house, called Cad'Zan.

This book is the first to capture the full range of styles, from the ornate, opulent, and spectacular, to the charming, country "Old Florida," which is now becoming so popular. Residents and tourists alike will appreciate both the renowned sites and a private glimpse of such amazing attractions as the orange-grove cottage where Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote The Yearling and Thomas Edison's winter home, which has a fascinating laboratory.