In 1910 industrialist James Deering started making plans to build his dream estate in a primeval jungle. A wealthy bachelor of rich and refined taste he dedicated the rest of his life to creating one of the greatest estates in America.

Deering had his own ideas when it came to location and that was where his house was to sit. As Deering walked the mangrove path he pointed to the water and insisted, "Place my house on the bay."

"We think its natural to build a house on the water but this was at the time people didn't do that, all the Newport houses are far from the sea," says Witold Rybczynski, Professor of Urbanism at The University of Pennsylvania." We know that it was Deering's decision, he really pushed for that and today its one of the most beautiful features of the house, it partly what makes it Venetian.

The construction at Vizcaya began in 1914 and would take two years to complete. Ten percent of Miami's population was hired to help in the construction of the estate including skilled craftsmen and artisans from Europe.

Vizcaya would be designed around a courtyard flanked by four towers. Built as a solid fortress, the structure was made entirely of concrete with steel enforced floors, which made the structure resistant to termites, decay, and hurricanes. A steam power tramway delivered concrete to the upper levels of the building while a rail spur, connected to Flagler's main line was built to bring in supplies from around the United States. Other building materials came from far and wide by ship.

"Every detail is dutifully thought out," says Witold. "There are thousands of craftsmen and workers and iron work and the tiles came from Cuba, the roof tiles and they bought, there were old homes in Cuba and they bought the whole roof and shipped them over because they liked the sort of old patina on these clay tiles so it was a very, very thought out project."

Although Vizcaya looked as if it was wrapped in history, Deering with his background in engineering and industry was adamant that it be equipped with all the modern innovations of the day including an elevator, a master clock, an annunciator which allowed Deering to call for servants throughout the house, a state-of-the art telephone system and most importantly fire equipment which helped fire proof the house, a prerequisite for an estate built in such a remote location.