Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

Vizcaya was built by James Deering, co-founder of International Harvester, around 1916 as his winter home. Mr. Deering picked this location because of the tropical climate and the setting on Biscayne Bay was ideal. The small town of Miami was nearby but Vizcaya was built to be a self sustaining community with it's own farm, livestock and other services.

The house took many years to build with the work of more than 1000 craftsmen. Mr. Deering sent "personal shoppers" to Europe after World War I to find the finest 15th thru 19th century antiques. Each room was built in a different style and filled with as many period pieces as he could find.

The lush gardens were designed in the Renaissance Italian and French style and required an extensive staff to maintain. There are also several smaller buildings on the property as well as amazing fountains.

The property was purchase by Miami-Dade County in 1952 for $1M to operate as an attraction. The facility is also available for rent for weddings and other events. It is located just a few minutes south of downtown Miami near the Biscayne Causeway.

Click on thumbnail for a full-size picture
Much of the grounds is still native Miami vegetation.	Statue of Ponce de Leon.	Fountain lined path to the mansion.
The front of the mansion.	Fancy gate leading to the north gardens.	Jungle cat?
The attached in-ground pool.	North garden, where orchids are grown.	Statue at the far end.
Orchids being grown in this structure.	Looking back at the north side of the house.	Path leading to a boat dock.
Cool little bridge.	Looking back at the mansion from the dock.	East side of the mansion.
Hmm, the sundial is running a bit slow.	The odd boat shaped breakwater/party pad.	Looking back at the house from the gazebo.
Tourists check out the breakwater.	Amazingly lush south gardens.	Looking back at the south side of the house.
Coral rock nook.	Ceiling decorated with shells.	Small fountain inside.
Looking back across the pool.	Looking up the waterfall.	View back at the house from the top of the waterfall.
I think this was called the casino at the far south end of the garden.	More gardens to one side.	Looking up a path up to the hill where the casino was.
Back of the casino.	Staircase to one side.	The canal behind the casino.
Another cool fountain in the gardens.	Another pool and a clump of several types of palm trees.	The palm trees.
Coral rock archway.		One last view of the front of the mansion as we were leaving.
Courtyard with the now non-working wind speed and direction indicators.	Looking down the staircase from the second floor.

Comments From People Like You! Vizcaya Museum & Gardens : Miami, Florida 2004	add a comment
Eric 26-Apr-2006 19:54
The 'odd' boat is called a barge. Occasionally it was used for parties, but its main purpose was to prevent waves from crashing into the main property.
jdaniels 27-Jan-2005 23:14
Is there a picture with the pool part that is indoors.  I went there years ago and I remember walking through it but did not get pictures. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of it either.  I recall it wasn't very impressive because the cafe was right there.

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