The Houses of St. Augustine, 1565-1821 (Florida Sand Dollar Books)

Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1991. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft cover. New. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Brand new and unread; very fresh and bright condition; gift quality! Red and white illustrated wrapper with blue lettering. 179 very crisp and clean new and unread informative and historical pages nicely enhanced by black and white illustrations! "The charming two-story house so distinctive to St. Augustine offers tangible evidence of Spanish settlement in the New World. Long before Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine, houses similar to the loggia-and-balcony houses of St. Augustine existed in his home province of Oviedo and in nearby Santander. The special feature of the casa Santanderina design, which Manucy calls the "St. Augustine Plan," is a roofed balcony over the street or the yard that anticipates the "Florida room" of this century. On both the north coast of Spain and the northeast coast of Florida, the porch excludes the cold wind and admits the sun in winter; it lets in the breeze and tempers the hot sun in summer. Upon its first publication thirty years ago, this classic volume contributed to an awakening of interest in St. Augustine architecture; it continues to be the basic reference tool for colonial period restoration and for the ongoing archaeological and anthropological research in the city. In detailed drawings and nontechnical language, the book identifies basic house types and records their dimensions, construction techniques, materials, and design details from foundations to roofs. It has been the cornerstone that enabled the St. Augustine government to frame architecture guidelines for preservation and restoration of existing historic buildings, reconstruction of lost structures, and construction of contemporary homes in designs that are compatible with the historic architecture........."