Readers may remember that when we first arrived in Miami two weeks ago, we saw this unusual mansion as we traversed the Deering Channel enroute to Grove Isle Marina. We also saw a photo of it on our Sea Ray Navigator screen (see photos).
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| Vizcaya as viewed from Deering Channel |
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| Vizcaya photo on the Sea Ray Navigator |
The mansion is called
Villa Vizcaya and it was build by
James Deering between 1910 and 1914. Deering's father founded Deering Harvester Company which became International Harvester and later Navistar. The Deering Channel was dug by Deering's workers to enable ships to bring building materials to the site.
We visited it today and it was spectacular. The property is now owned by Dade County and is operated as a museum. It is a popular tourist attraction.
Many similarities exist with Ringling's Ca' d' Zan mansion is Sarasota. Deering and his architect and interior designer, Paul Chalfin, journeyed throughout the world to acquire the furniture, art, sculpture and even rooms that make up this impressive property. In fact Deering and Chalfin acquired the artifacts, arranged them in a warehouse and then built the rooms to accommodate them. Every room is from a different historical period.
Unfortunately, they will not let you take photos inside the house. That said, we cheated and took the two below.
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| Sculpture at the west entrance |
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| Phone room (one of the first phones in Miami) |
The grounds are spectacular and beautifully maintained. The original property consisted of 180 acres, which today is 50 acres. Part of the 130 acres to the south was sold and is now Mercy Hospital. Another part of the property, called The Farm, is now the Museum of Science and Planetarium.
Photos on the grounds were allowed. Enjoy!
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| Grand entrance from the land |
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| Grand entrance from Biscayne Bay |
One of many spectacular features is the "barge," which is essentially an outdoor patio on the bay. It was built on a sandbar and then the land between it and shore was dredged to create an island. Guests rowed over to the barge in small boats. In the second photo you will notice unusually painted poles. These they explained were gondola poles as found in Venice. And yes, Deering had gondolas for his guests.
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| The "Barge" as viewed from shore |
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| Note the gondola poles |
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| Boat dock |
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| North view from the gardens |
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| Gardens to the south |
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| Fountain Garden |
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| Fountain Garden viewed from The Mound |
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| Casino |
The weather as indicated in the photos was beautiful with temperatures in the 80s and an onshore bay breeze. In fact the last 20+ days have been warm and sunny.
Note: Since leaving Chicago, we guestimate that we have no more than 10 days with rain.
Written by Les.
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