Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Vizcaya.
On this page
Winter home, museum and landmark
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1859
James Deering is born
James Deering, whose wealth will come from the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, is born.
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1914
Building begins
Work on Vizcaya begins on Biscayne Bay, by the museum’s dates; some accounts give 1912.
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25 December 1916
A first winter
Deering begins his first winter residency at Vizcaya on Christmas Day.
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1922
The estate is completed
Building work at Vizcaya comes to an end.
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September 1925
Deering dies
James Deering dies on board a steamship.
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1926
The first hurricane damage
A hurricane damages the estate, a year after Deering’s death.
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1952
A county estate
Miami-Dade County acquires the villa and formal gardens.
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1953
A museum opens
Vizcaya opens as the Dade County Art Museum.
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1970
National Register
Vizcaya is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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1987
A historic meeting
President Ronald Reagan receives Pope John Paul II at Vizcaya on the Pope’s first visit to Miami.
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1994
A National Historic Landmark
Vizcaya is designated a National Historic Landmark.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.