Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is a National Historic Landmark that is also a house museum and gardens located in Miami, Florida. The estate was originally built by businessman James Deering of the Deering Harvester Company in 1916 as a winter residence. The Vizcaya property includes 10 acres (4 hectares) of formal gardens, including the Main House, which has 34 rooms decorated with 15th- and 16th-century European antiques and art, as well as 10 acres (4 hectares) of native forest.

History

The Main House was built between 1914 and 1916 in the Italian Renaissance style, with influences from Venetian Gothic architecture. The estate was designed by Miami architect F. Burrall Hoffman Jr., who also worked on the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.

The gardens were designed by diego Rivera and Charles Reed Pope, and were planted with more than 3,000 species of plants and trees from around the world.

Vizcaya was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1984.

In 1994, Vizcaya was acquired by Miami-Dade County and is now operated as a house museum and public park by the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens Trust.

Features

The Main House at Vizcaya is a two-story, 60-room structure with 34 rooms open to the public. The house is built of limestone, marble, and mahogany, with terrazzo floors and mosaic tile bathrooms.

The gardens include a number of fountains and sculptures, as well as a barge that was used as a transportation vessel in World War I.

Vizcaya also has a café, gift shop, and an events space that can be rented for weddings and other special occasions.

How To Visit

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is open Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30am-4:30pm. Admission is $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and free for children 6 and under.

Guided tours of the Main House are available Tuesday-Sunday at 10:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm. Tours last approximately 45 minutes.

Garden only tours are available Tuesday-Sunday at 9:45am, 12:15pm, and 3:00pm. Tours last approximately 30 minutes.

Free audio tours are also available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japanese.

Information provided by Quality 1 Restoration.