Vizcaya Museum and Gardens began as James Deering’s bayfront estate in Miami’s Coconut Grove, developed from 1912 as a grand Mediterranean Revival villa with Italian Renaissance gardens, native woodland, and a service village. Designed by F. Burrall Hoffman, Iwahiko Tsumanuma, Paul Chalfin, and Diego Suarez, it adapted European models to South Florida materials and climate. Deering moved in on Christmas Day 1916, though work continued into 1923. After his death in 1925, hurricanes, upkeep costs, and land sales reduced the property. Miami-Dade County acquired the house and formal gardens in 1952, opened the museum in 1953, and today preserves 50 acres as a public historic and cultural site.