My husband's grandmother unexpectedly passed last week, which brought us to Miami for several days. We all needed to get out of the house for a bit, so we took advantage of some beautiful weather to head to the
Deering Estate to clear our heads. Although we tried to go more than once while living in Miami, it was always closed for events. They were setting up for a huge wedding while we were there (likely costing far more than we make in a year), but it didn't ruin the visit, just the photos... While the photos aren't great, I'd say they're not bad for wrangling a toddler, and that same teething boy is the reason not a single one is edited!
Villa Vizcaya was begun in 1914, and the main house was finished in 1916. It contains countless antiquities brought over from Europe, including a stone console purportedly from Pompeii. As usual, you're better off getting the history from Wikipedia, but here are some photos including many details that caught my attention. The estate was restored by the original decorator in 1934 following the Miami Hurricane of 1926, with the intention of opening it as a museum.
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| marble drain in the courtyard |
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| the flower room |
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| the iron fireback was a phoenix |
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| telephone closet |
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| beautiful call bells throughout |
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| you can see the toilet in the corner |
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| even museums have water damage... |
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| dragon curtain tieback |
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| stunning paint color combinations |
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| there are no less than three butler's pantries in the house |
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| stone console from Pompeii |
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| hidden air intake |
These photos refused to behave and let themselves be put in any sort of order, so oh well. But as you can see, the house was built in the prime time of early technologies. Servants bells, each with a unique pull, call buttons, annunciators, dumbwaiters, a variety of electric switches, and one of my favorite things - engraved switchplates. Not to mention a telephone closet for Ross...
