With Vizcaya’s open‑air design, James Deering imagined a home that blended naturally into the subtropical landscape around it. His letters from this period mention the arrival of tropical birds, small decisions that reveal his interest in shaping the atmosphere of the estate as much as its architecture. Seen through these details, what do you notice about the environment Deering hoped to create at Vizcaya, and the role these birds may have played in it?
“A SUFFICIENT NUMBER TO MAKE A CHEERFUL AND NOT DEAFENING SOUND.”
Letter: May 2, 1916
From: James Deering, Vizcaya’s Owner
To: Paul Chalfin, Vizcaya’s Artistic Director
Reveal Transcript
Dear Mr. Chalfin:
Assuming that we have two macaws on the perches in the general southern part of the courtyard, what would you think of having a cage with a few canaries in the northwest part of the arcade, near the door. I mean just a sufficient number to make a cheerful and not a deafening sound. What would you think further of having in the northeast part of the arcade a cage of paroquets. None of these make much noise, unless it is the canaries, and as before stated I would not have enough of them to make a serious noise.
Mr. Matheson has a lot of paroquets on the key and if I understood or remember what he said, he has some hope of reestablishing them in this part of the world, where the trees were once full of them.
Yours sincerely,
JD
Copy JD.
“SECOND MACAW IS FADING AWAY”
Telegram: April, 1918
From: James Deering, Vizcaya’s Owner
To: Paul Chalfin, Vizcaya’s Artistic Director
Reveal Transcript
Second macaw is fading away will not eat cause believed to be death of companion of lack of society if you can send one please do so quickly.
JD
448 PM
Reveal a drawing of the bird cage proposed for Vizcaya
