The Stories Of Vizcaya

A person holding a pink bucket outside of a high-rise building with the words giveaway in rainbow colors.

Think of composting as nature’s own recycling process. It’s a simple yet transformative practice that turns your everyday kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrients for your garden or potted plants. Imagine taking things like banana peels, apple cores, and fallen leaves and turning this would-be waste into rich, fertile soil that breathes life into

A black and white photo of a couple standing in front of a sign that says love.
Vizcaya is proud to be a place where love blooms. Our visitors have been finding and celebrating love here for decades and we take the time to honor that tradition every February.
A bottle of whisky on a Vizcaya Museum and Gardens background.

Spring Hill Bourbon Whiskey. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Despite having its most active years during the age of Prohibition, Vizcaya was anything but a dry estate. Archival purchase records and letters tell us that James Deering bought thousands of dollars’ worth of alcohol for Vizcaya and many original bottles remain in the collection today. Despite

Four women posing in front of a brick wall.

Tracing Women in 19th and 20th Century Archival Collections Are you curious about the staff who worked behind the scenes maintaining Vizcaya for James Deering? So are we! Our archives hold thousands of letters, blueprints, financial records and photographs documenting the construction of Vizcaya. While these records hold valuable information on other aspects of Vizcaya,

A black and white photo of an ornate fireplace.

Designing Vizcaya The design and construction of Vizcaya was a unique challenge. Instead of designing the house and then finding objects to complement it, as was usually done, Vizcaya was designed around objects selected by James Deering and his artistic director Paul Chalfin. The pair made several trips abroad to purchase objects before the house

A painting of a woman and a man with a baby and a pipe organ.

By Elena Davila, Archives Digitization Intern If you have toured Vizcaya on a late afternoon, you may have been pleasantly surprised by the sound of music filling the home. The instrument responsible is the impressive pipe organ, located in the Living Room on the Northeast corner of the home, with its pipes housed directly behind

A dragon hanging from the ceiling of a room being used as a light fixture.

Through the artistic vision of Paul Chalfin, Vizcaya’s Artistic Director, these dragons were converted into electric lights, effectively merging aesthetics with utility. The dragons’ open mouths were outfitted with three lightbulbs and installed on the north and south sides of the second-floor galleries of the Main House. Conservation Treatment These fantastical light fixtures were recently

Ornate building with arched windows and grand staircase under a blue sky. "Giveaway!" text in bold red letters at the top.

Vizcaya hit 100,000 followers on Instagram! When we asked our audience how we should celebrate, the top requests were discounts and giveaways and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We got the ball rolling by giving away 10 FREE tickets to the Vizcaya Late program on September 27 and now we’re giving away 100 FREE individual

Close-up of rare orchids in a greenhouse setting with text promoting a behind-the-scenes tour at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

Visiting this Friday? Jump on this Exclusive Tour!

If you love orchids, you don’t miss this special behind-the-scenes tour on Friday, December 13, 11:30 a.m. Join Vizcaya’s own orchid specialist as we go inside the museum’s greenhouse to explore rare orchids and learn expert plant care tips.

Tickets are just $39 per person and include museum admission. Spots are limited, so reserve yours now!