MEMORABLE MOMENTS ON BISCAYNE BAY

By PamelaAnn Campbell
Click here for the Miami Treasures Photo Collection by Bridget Azeez

Miami, Fla: Who could resist the picturesque beauty of Biscayne Bay? Not even the wealthy industrialist Deering brothers who built expansive winter residences beside its tranquil waters in the early 1920’s.

Charles’ family retreat is now the 450-acre Deering Estate at Cutler, while James, his younger brother, spent a fortune on his 70-room mansion known as Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

Today their private enclaves are often the scene of one of the most romantic times in our lives, wedding nuptials.

An open-air garden ceremony at the Deering Estate is a captivating sight and unforgettable memory for the happy couple and their guests. A popular area is the boat turning basin that eclipses the outdoor views, its huge keyhole design outlined by towering palm trees along the mile long channel flowing into Biscayne Bay. A reception in the ballroom of either of the two mansions is perfect for the occasion.

Over at the 180-acre Vizcaya Museum and Gardens couples may exchange marriage vows in the courtyard, formal gardens or on outdoor terraces (with or without a tent.) The east terrace is especially attractive as it overlooks the Great Stone Barge and Biscayne Bay.

Both Deerings possessed a love of art and a connection to nature and that might have lured them to establish their estates on the sparkling bay. They had enjoyed their last years here and probably never imagined that decades later their bayfront properties would be the much desired venue for newlyweds celebrating the beginning of their lives together.

History does have a way of embracing the present, doesn’t it?

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Deering Estate at Cutler

Charles Deering (1852-1927) was the eldest son of William Deering, founder of the Deering Harvester Machine Company in Maine. A graduate of the United State Naval Academy, he was also a naval attaché in Spain where he accumulated a huge art collection, including works by El Greco, Goya, Degas, Gainsborough, Murillo and Homer.

Charles was widowed in 1876.when his wife died after giving birth to his eldest child, Charles William. He later remarried and by 1888 had fathered three more children.  Around 1916 Charles decided to locate his family’s winter home in Cutler, acquiring Richmond Cottage, built by the pioneer Richmond family in 1896. The original Richmond House, a small two-story frame vernacular building, was enlarged and turned into an inn called Richmond Cottage in 1900.

It takes a little imagination to visualize the town of Cutler with 30 pioneer homes, a school, two stores, a post office and three docks in the 1880’s……or travelers on the very first road from Coconut Grove that is now the park’s main hammock trail. Guided walking or tram tours through the hardwood hammock allow visitors to take a close-up look at some native plant species such as oak, gumbo limbo, pigeon plum and tons of wild butterflies, as well as the avocado grove that Charles originally planted, Cutler Creek and solution holes. Volunteer guides are also fond of showing ancient artifacts uncovered at the estate.

Within two years the new owner added the Carriage House, Power House and Pump House to the property. Before construction of Old Cutler Road, Charles and his family had to use the bay to get to the estate. Around the pretty boat turning basin you can spot birds and marine animals such as herons, ibis, cormorants, ospreys, hawks, manatees, sharks, barracuda, snapper and snook. We even enjoyed the company of a woodpecker that you couldn’t help but notice, not with the jack-hammer racket he was creating!

In 1922 Charles built the 14,000-square-foot Stone House, his prized Mediterranean Revival style mansion meticulously designed to guard against the threat of fires or forceful storms. He maintained there would be minimal use of wood, while the walls would be solid concrete, 18 inches thick. Bronze outer doors and windows and copper doors on the inside and genuine Cuban barrel tiles on the roof are some of the aesthetics Charles found irresistible, but above all, Stone House had to be as secure as a vault for his priceless art collection and antiques. He also ran a water pipeline from the main grounds to the surrounding natural areas to ensure there was enough water in case of fire.

A wine cellar was also carefully preserved during the prohibition years, hidden in the basement by a false bookcase and a vault door just like the ones you see in a bank. There are a number of bottles still stored there, minus the labels that were washed away during the hurricane.

The 420-acre park is an environmental, archeological, historical and architectural treasure trove composed of 150 acres of endangered pine rockland, 115 acres of hardwood hammock, mangrove, salt marsh and submerged lands. The property also extends to Chicken Key, a seven-acre bird rookery and mangrove island, one mile offshore in Biscayne Bay.

Among the rare and native plants found on site are orchids, bromeliads, ferns and over 40 species of trees. It is also a wildlife habitat for gray fox, spotted skunks, squirrels, bobcats and a variety of birds.

Fossils dating back some 50,000 years are among the greatest archaeological finds at the park, and bones and teeth of mammoth, horses the size of dogs, tapirs, jaguars, peccaries, sloths and bison were also unearthed. It is believed that human remains at Cutler are those of North America’s first inhabitants, the Paleo-Indians who lived here 10,000 years ago Located slightly off the main trail through the hardwood hammock is a sacred Tequesta Burial Mound from around 1500-1700.

In 1985 the property was purchased by the state of Florida and Miami Dade County and a year later the Deering Estate at Cutler was placed in the National Register of Historic Places. 

When Hurricane Andrew raced through south Florida in 1992, the Richmond Cottage was almost demolished, except for the original section built in 1896. The Stone House remained structurally intact, but the interior, doors and windows were severely damaged. The hurricane was also disastrous for the natural areas where hundreds of acres of tropical hardwood hammocks, rock pinelands and mangroves were destroyed.

In 1999, after more than six years of restoration, the historic property was re-opened and nature has rebounded in all her glory.

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

James Deering (1859-1925) also decided to set up his winter home on Biscayne Bay in 1916, but on such a grand scale it’s sometimes called the “Hearst Castle of the East.”

The wealthy Deering created a $22 million getaway called Vizcaya (Basque for “elevated place”) using a workforce of 1,000 people when Miami’s population numbered a mere 10,000. Vizcaya was envisioned as a fully independent Italian estate surrounded by a dairy, poultry house, mule stable, greenhouse and staff quarters. Fascinated by Italian Renaissance architecture, James often shopped in Europe, ordering doors, gates, fixtures and fireplaces for his villa.

From the west entrance to the home visitors see two towers and a connecting wall featuring 16th century Italian grill designs, while the image at the north end is evocative of 17^th century Baroque style architecture that embraces grandiose “curves.” Overlooking Biscayne Bay on the east side, the Renaissance influence is paramount, apart from the Paladin styled balcony on the second floor, while to the south the stained glass doors leading to the gardens may be in vogue with 18^th century designs.

James furnished the villa with period pieces that would give the appearance of spanning four generations, between the 15^th and 19^th century, representative of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical times. The museum rooms display priceless European art and antiques, rarely seen in south Florida. Look up and down – you won’t want to miss the gilded ceilings and centuries-old carpet and tapestries.

The 18^th century plaster ceiling in the Rococo styled reception room is an original from the Rossi Palace in Venice, lit by a Venetian chandelier from the same period and complemented by the Louis XV French furniture and 18^th century Portuguese rug.

James’ personal suite is also a tribute to the Neoclassical era, from the Louis XVI silk wall panels and French Empire mahogany desks to early 19^th century French Savonnerie rug. His bedroom is richly adorned with a gold laurel wreath on the ceiling and mahogany furnishings with gold decorations that hail from the French Empire of Napoleon.

After viewing the 34 furnished rooms, plan to take a leisurely stroll around the 10 acres of gardens, splashing fountains and statuary brimming with Old World charm. If you are tempted to forget you are in south Florida, the rustling old oak trees dripping Spanish moss will jolt you back to reality.

Just beyond the terrace looking east is the imposing Great Stone Barge installed as a breakwater, while to the south are the formal gardens, the brainchild of Diego Suarez, a Colombian-born, Florence-trained landscape architect. His concept was to marry elements of 16^th and 17^th century Italian hill gardens with 17^th century French gardens. The visionary Suarez spread the main garden out like a fan using “Italian-clipped topiary and water displays combined with French curving low-cut hedges, or parterres.”

The Fountain Garden leads to the Maze Garden and its orange jasmine hedges, while the decorative Theater Garden features clipped hedges for “stage wings” and turf “seats.” By way of a double grotto is the Secret Garden, a replica of the Renaisssance garden at Villa Gamberaia near Florence. If you’re in town for the Moonlight Garden Tour, try not to miss it. 

Another stunning vista is the Baroque Casino (miniature garden house) perched on the Mount, a man-made hill, as well as the balustrades, sculpture, decorative urns, fountains and pools located on the terraces.

But James Deering’s pride and joy almost became a forgotten place. After his death in 1925, the property was neglected and then severely damaged by the 1926 hurricane. In 1952 the state of Florida and Miami Dade County bought and restored Vizcaya as a museum.

This National Historic Landmark has attracted a number of dignitaries, even royalty, including former President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. In 1994 Vizcaya was the site of the historic Summit of the Americas attended by 34 leaders from the Western Hemisphere and hosted by then President Bill Clinton.