2007-07-21
shells on the ceiling
At the Charles Deering Estate, the walls are carved of coral rock. The Stone House was his winter home, built on the jungle-thick hunting grounds of Tequesta indians, and the Wild West-style pioneer villages of Old Cutler.
There are shells on the ceiling and seahorses in the pillars.
Conchs and coral decorate the eaves like pearls on a necklace.
The architect behind the building has a magician's name: Phineas Paist. He designed some of my favorite places in the city, including Villa Vizcaya, the Colonnade and Venetian Pool.
Even the flower vases have faces.
A floating cactus pincushion.
I stepped too close and pricked my finger, just like princess in the fairy tale.
Fuzzy flowers remind me of pipe cleaners.
This side of the Stone House faces the bay. I bet Deering dreamed of mermaids.
The postcard-perfect view from his bedroom. You can almost see Chicken Key, where sailors hid from pirates.
Inside the house, massive lamps throw hand-shaped shadows on the wall.
Many brides have waltzed in this checkered ballroom. I wonder if it is haunted?
Wrought-iron roses stitched into the gate.
Royal palms rise like parisols near the water.
Next door, the Richmond Cottage slopes against clouds as thick as mashed potatoes. It's the last piece of the 19th century town of Cutler.
At the turn of the century, it was changed into a hotel.
I wonder if they had as many mosquitoes back then?
I could sit in a rocking chair and read until sunset.
A sign on the door mentioned something about Artist Studios. I heard voices murmuring behind the windows.
Horse and buggies used to park here, and then there was Texaco...
All this ancient machinery looks like modern art to me.
On the way out, I asked if I could hike along the trail. I wanted to see the indian burial mound (the dead laid like spokes on a wheel, under an oak tree so massive, I couldn't wrap my arms around it). I asked the woman in the ticket office (who was flipping through a tabloid magazine). She told me it had closed for the summer.
"Is too many mosquitoes," she said, laughing.
"Cutler is located in a most beautiful spot, overlooking Biscayne Bay...The water is pure and sweet and the climate everything that could be desired."
--Official Directory of the City of Miami and Nearby Towns, 1904.
Charles Deering Estate
16701 S. W. 72nd Avenue
MIAMI, FLORIDA 33157
f-i-n at 2:30 p.m.