- Charles Deering Estate
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Charles Deering EstateThe Richmond Cottage as it looks today.
Location: Cutler, Florida, USA Coordinates: 25°36′57″N 80°18′38″W / 25.61583°N 80.31056°WCoordinates: 25°36′57″N 80°18′38″W / 25.61583°N 80.31056°W NRHP Reference#: 86000325 Added to NRHP: March 11, 1986 Charles Deering Estate (also known as Deering Estate at Cutler) was the Florida home of Charles Deering until 1927 when he died at the estate.[1]
Contents
Description
Deering lived on the 444 acres (1.80 km2)[2] property for five years, from 1922 to 1927. The property consists of a three floor wooden house built in 1900, known as the Richmond Cottage,[3] and a three floor stone mansion. Other buildings were also built on the property to serve as axillary buildings to the estate. Charles Deering Estate is located in the incorporated village of Palmetto Bay, Florida.
The grounds include what is thought to be the largest virgin coastal tropical hardwood hammock in the continental United States. The estate was acquired by the state of Florida in 1985.
The house and grounds were featured several times in the 1980s TV series Miami Vice[4] and it was the starting line for The Amazing Race All-Stars in 2007.[5]
History
Charles Deering
Charles Deering was born on July 31, 1852 in Paris, Maine.[1] He was the son of William Deering, founder of Deering Harvester Company, and brother of, millionaire industrialist, James Deering. Deering is remembered as an American businessman and philanthropist.
In 1873 Deering graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served as an officer in the Navy until 1881. Deering then became secretary of his father's company, which merged with McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and became International Harvester in 1902. After the merger, Deering became the chairman of the board for International Harvester.[1] Charles Deering died at the age of 75 at his estate at Cutler, at 11:30 P.M. on February 5, 1927.[1][6] After Charles' death, the estate was left to his wife and children.[6]
The Richmond Cottage
In 1900 the wooden house was built and soon after S.H. Richmond's wife, Edith, opened the house as an Inn called the Richmond Cottage.[7] Guests who stayed at the Richmond Cottage, according to the 1900 register of the Inn, include Henry Morrison Flagler and James Ingrahm. The Richmond Cottage was named the most southern hostelry on the continental United States by The Miami Metropolis in 1901.[8] The 1904 City Directory describes Cutler as, "A few houses, with two good stores, those of Tweedell Brothers, and Brown and Moody, each of whom has built up a thriving business with the surrounding country. Cutler has daily mail and three wharves from which boats take freight and passengers to and from Miami. There is one good hotel, the Richmond Cottage which overlooks the bay."[7]
Charles Deering bought the Richmond Cottage in 1916 and moved to Cutler in 1922.[6]
Hurricane Andrew
On August 24, 1992, the third most powerful Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States struck South Florida. Hurricane Andrew packed winds of over 170 miles per hour (270 km/h) and, "destroyed 25,524 homes and damaged 101,241 others."[9]
Hurricane Andrew ravaged and damaged the property of Deering Estate. The water front property was devastated by waves that reached as high as the second floor of the buildings. Water rose more than 16 feet (4.9 m) from sea level[10] and caused major flooding on the property.[11] The Richmond Cottage was taken off its foundation and splintered by the hurricane. It took seven years and $7.2 million U. S. Dollars to restore the location. Deering Estate at Cutler reopened to the public in 1999 and officially opened in 2000.[11][12]
The Deering Estate Foundation
The Deering Estate Foundation, inc organized in 1989 and strives, "to raise public awareness, outreach, understanding and the enjoyment of the Deering Estate at Cutler and to raise funds to support education, research, exhibits and collections, natural conservation and historical restoration and preservation."[13] The offices of the foundation are located on the third floor of the Richmond Cottage.
The Deering Estate Foundation - Board of Directors[14] Executive Committee Position Directors Trustees Daniel Yglesias President Henry Aguilera Rick Cohen Eric Haas Vice President Kristina Cunetta Sallye Jude David Turner Treasurer Maddalena Daday Peter England Lynn French Secretary Maurice Bared Mary Young Suzuyo Fox Philip F. Ludovici John C. (Sean) Murphy David Peyton Dorian Neidhart David A. Marley Becky Roper Matkov Scott A. Silver Paul Neidhart William Thiele Liede De Valdivielso Buff Bye-March Betty Noe Richard King Gallery
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Newspaper: Charles Deering Dies At Home Near Cutler. " The Herald [Miami] 06 Feb. 1927. Print.
- ^ DeeringEstate.org - About Us, Last checked on 2010-07-27.
- ^ Miamidade.gov - Deering, Last checked on 2010-07-27.
- ^ ntlworld.com - The Afternoon Plane Loc2, Last checked on 2010-07-27.
- ^ Waymarking.com - The Amazing Race 11, Last checked on 2010-07-27.
- ^ a b c Metropoliton Dade County Historic Preservation Board. "The Deering Estate" The Charles Deering Estate Historict S.W. 167 Street and Old Cutler Road: Designation Report. Miami: Metro-Dade, 1985. 5,6. Print. This publication can be found at The Main Library.[1] Address: 101 W FLAGLER ST MIAMI, FL 33130 Phone: 305-375-2665
- ^ a b Metropoliton Dade County Historic Preservation Board. "The Richmond Era" The Charles Deering Estate Historict S.W. 167 Street and Old Cutler Road: Designation Report. Miami: Metro-Dade, 1985. 4. Print. This publication can be found at The Main Library.[2] Address: 101 W FLAGLER ST MIAMI, FL 33130 Phone: 305-375-2665
- ^ Google News Archive, "A Trip From Miami to the Homestead Lands." The Miami Metropolis 19 Apr. 1901. Print.
- ^ "Preliminary Report Hurricane Andrew 16–28 August 1992". NOAA.gov. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1992andrew.html. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ "NOAA Photo Library" (Web). National Weather Service. http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/wea00529.htm. Retrieved 12 August 2010. "Still-water marks from storm surge measured at 16.5 feet."
- ^ a b "Hurricane Andrew". Deering Estate at Cutler. http://www.deeringestate.com/pages/Hurricane-Andrew.aspx. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ Pettit, Mary. "Estate at Cutler" (Web). Social Affairs Magazine. http://www.socialaffairs.com/view.php?I=123. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ DeeringEstate.org - About The Foundation
- ^ "Board of Directors - Deering Estate". http://www.deeringestate.org/pages/Board-of-Directors-.aspx. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- Florida, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, 2004, pg. 90
External links
- Deering Estate at Cutler
- Shade Tree Expert The story of Preserving a Landmark Tree at Deering Estate in Miami
Categories:- National Register of Historic Places in Miami-Dade County, Florida
- Historic house museums in Florida
- Museums in Miami-Dade County, Florida
- Art museums in Florida
- Historic Florida architecture 1989 AIA survey listings in Miami-Dade County
- Houses in Miami-Dade County, Florida
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