The Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is where people go to experience a different time period for Miami. It was the winter estate for James Deering and the house was built in 1916 with the gardens completed in 1922. For that time period the technology, the house was advanced. It had a direct dial telephone, an intercom, an HVAC system, central vacuuming, dumbwaiters, ice boxes and two elevators. Really cool to see these early editions of these innovations if you’re a techie like myself.
If you’ve never visited, you might recognize it featured in scenes from popular movies including: “The Money Pit”, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”, "Absence of Malice”, “Iron Man 3” or “Bad Boys II”. It’s also served as a backdrop in several music videos including one for Mr. 305 - Pitbull. You can also check out the online storytelling community: Beyond Vizcaya. It tells the stories of Miami through themes for example the first season covered labor, migration and cultural identity. This season they are covering climate change and the natural environment.
It’s just one way to document these stories and to keep them alive.
For more on the history of the Vizcaya and James Deering, watch this video below: