Customer Reviews

Mizner's Florida: American Resort Architecture (Architectural History Foundation Book)

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I purchased this book to give me insight into an architect I knew little about. I have learned Addison Mizner "built" Palm Beach, and 'imported' the Mediterranean Influence to Florida. He would have done the same for Boca Raton, but the times were changing, as well as the Florida real estate market. As one of his last commissions, he designed 'La Ronda' in the Philadelphia suburbs; his only known mansion in the north. It was totally unusual for the staid Main Line area where it was built; its pink stucco walls, inlaid Spanish-style tiles and leaded-glass windows contrasted drastically with the stone colonials of the area. But that is what makes it absolutely priceless today. Its current owner wants to raze it and put a 'McMansion' or 2 in its place. Mizner's design will be lost in the north forever, as many of his homes in Florida are gone now (El Mirasol, for example). Luckily, many of commissions are still in existence, at least for now.