Visiting Vizcaya: A Patina Dream in Home and Garden
Ok, it’s been a minute, um, or rather almost two months since I last posted. But not without good cause. An extended month-long trip to Florida had me away from my laptop and screens in general. I spent every minute I could outside with the Florida’s glorious “winter” weather. And since being back in NYC, the past few weeks have been all about adjusting back to cold temperatures/small apartment life. But in between the FL jaunt and the return to city-life, I decided to take advantage of my proximity to Miami for the last winter holiday long weekend.
Traveling these days can be tricky, needless to say. What constitutes as “safe” is hardly discernible, and so it’s up to each person to decide what is their “risk budget.” If you happen to be relatively close enough to Miami, and feel like you some some “risk” in your “budget,” or even post-pandemic timing if your risk budget is null right now (when exactly does this become definitive?), I suggest a visit to The Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. It’s located in the Coral Gables neighborhood and offers up a nice socially-distanced activity that also takes place mostly outdoors (or all outdoors should you want to skip the house, but I don’t recommend this route).
It used to be the “winter home” (are you seeing a pattern, here in this post?) for James Deering in the early 20th century to escape the Northeast’s depressing season. It quickly and early on became an architectural darling and featured in the 1917 issue of Architectural Review, which you can still read digitally and in totality here. It’s fun to “flip” through the issue, if anything to see the advertisements at the time: Kohler sinks, United States Radiator Corp., and you get the drift. My favorite fact of the home: Deering used to shuttle back and forth his library and trunks of books between the two homes, not content to have separate libraries or to leave behind his books to be alone.
A few travel tid-bits to note before you go and gathered from my experience:
The price is right: Normally entry fees run ~$30 per person, but now, due to the closure of the second floor of the home, you can visit for practically half the cost at $18 per adult. The caveat being, you might want to go back for a second visit, if you’re keen to see the entire interior once it opens back up.
As of February, there seemed to be more than a normal amount of construction happening throughout the grounds and on the exterior of the home. This fact alone made a mark on the experience for me. It seemed like every corner you turned whether in the gardens, pool area, or looking out toward the ocean vistas, some grounds people were working. Plus, an entire side facade of the glorious house was covered in tarp.
On any given day, there will be no short of 3-5 photo shoots happening. The glorious backdrops make for picture-worthy ‘grammable shots, and thus, entice any current local high schooler taking senior or quinceañera photo memories. Meander around these dress-clad girls and their photographers, you must. It’s also as you can imagine, a local favorite for wedding receptions and engagement/wedding party photo shoots.
The interior details and all the surrounding greenery made it hard to only take a handful of photos. Below is my half-hearted attempt to edit a couple hours worth of photos.
The main entrance to the Vizcaya home—a patina lover’s treasure trove.
My personal favorite detail to the home is this hanging ship. Where you would expect to see a grand chandelier, this artifact of craftsmanship had me charmed. The peculiarity of its placement and its height had me thinking of Peter Pan’s ship coasting off into the sky.
Hard to confirm but this palm-tree wallpaper appeared to be hand painted, and for my own memory’s pleasure, I’m going to continue to tell myself that.
Tucked away in a stairwell leading to the second floor was this vibrant textile and its pattern (upholstered to a small bench), and I couldn’t help see how it predates Missoni’s coveted and famous design pattern in their fashion. This pattern’s thread dying and loom technique combined makes it very special given its age.
An Italian oasis this property mirrors. This part of the home sits in the back and seems to be under constant repair and surveillance given the ocean tides and climate change issues it faces.
Stationed throughout the garden, in a set of four (if I recall correctly) are these follies (I think this is what they are?). A folly is a decorative structure that serves no real purpose other than its visual effect—which you can image this is THE spot of choice for the “I was here” photo ops at Vizcaya.
Legitimate terracotta all the way from Florence, Italy.
The property really plays mind tricks on you: Miami, Italy, and then, Savannah or any other Southern state that allows this hanging moss to thrive.
On the far side of one of the gardens, there’s an outdoor open villa with this beautiful al fresco ceiling mural. How it has survived the outdoor weather through the century, I’m quite flummoxed.
If you take interest enough to really look at the full mural, you’ll start to see some disturbing, and yet, telling imagery depiction of its time. Need I even point out the obvious—the parasol holder?
This last tranquil turquoise spot. . . is can you guess? The pool! Under the arches is a space functioning like a patio and that leads into the inside. Again, love the wall’s patina contrasting with the clear, shocking bright pool water. A dream.
Caught the light shimmers (I’m dubbing this a noun). Everything in its historic grandeur does sparkle and shine bright at Vizcaya. If you can block out the various property’s momentum around reconstruction, then you’ll find the patina, the ship, and the other small details that add up to make it still an impressive museum and worthwhile visit.