The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida. The early 20th century Vizcaya estate includes extensive Italian Renaissance gardens, native woodland landscape, and a historic village outbuildings compound. Veneto and Tuscan Italian Renaissance models influenced the landscape and architecture and were designed in the Mediterranean Revival architecture style, with Baroque elements. F. Burrall Hoffman was the architect, Paul Chalfin was the design director, and Diego Suarez was the landscape architect.
The estate property originally consisted of 180 acres (73 ha) of shoreline Mangrove swamps and dense inland native tropical forests. Being a conservationist, Deering sited the development of the estate portion along the shore to conserve the forests. This portion included the villa, formal gardens, recreational amenities, expansive lagoon gardens with new islets, potager and grazing fields, and a village services compound. Deering began constructing Vizcaya in 1912, officially starting occupancy on Christmas Day 1916 when he arrived aboard his yacht Nepenthe.
1971 Robbery
On March 22, 1971, three individuals from New York City stole approximately $1.5 million in artworks and silver items from the Villa Vizcaya, some of which were of historical value. This trio of reputed jewel thieves was arrested on March 25, 1971. Sergeant Tom Connolly from the New York Police Department raided the Manhattan apartment of Vojislav Stanimirović and his wife Branka and stopped them. The couple’s accomplice, Alexander Karalanović, was also arrested, and all three were charged with suspicion of stolen property and possession of a dangerous weapon. From the Stanimirovićs’ apartment, approximately $250,000 of the stolen goods was recovered. Sergeant Connolly stated that a silver bowl that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte and was virtually priceless iwas ncluded in the theft. According to Sergeant Connolly, the three perpetrators had been under surveillance for four months for unrelated mega jewel burglaries that they had carried out in the Manhattan Diamond District. NYPD Captain Thomas Kissane said that most of the precious items stolen from the Vizcaya were never recovered. A1 Bed Bug Exterminator Miami
Restaurants and Pubs
- Perricone’s Marketplace & Café is located at 1700 SW 3rd Ave, Miami, FL
- Dimitrios Cuisine is located at 1416 Brickell Ave, Miami, FL
- Sweet Caroline Karaoke Bar is located at 1111 SW 1st Ave #107, Miami, FL
- Batch Gastropub: Miami is located at 30 SW 12th St, Miami, FL
Check out other attractions like Bayfront Park