Vizcaya

In Coconut Grove, FL. James Deering, an agricultural industrialist, built a beautiful Euopean inspired 36 room mansion.  He named it Vizcaya.  The name means "an elevated place."  Built between 1914 and 1916, it was made to look like it had been standing for centuries.  All the furniture, decorative elements, doors, floors, marble, etc. was imported from Europe.  Three architects worked on the project, including the gardens, with all the modern amenities of the time.  It was James' winter home; he never married and died in 1925.

To this day, the Miami-Dade Historical Society maintains the home and gardens which still house one of the finest collections of 16th -19th C. European decorative arts.