"I didn't want the project to exist only as an event that happens and then it's gone." Mette Tommerup told WLRN this about "High Tide Low Tide," her installation spread across the Deering Estate grounds in Palmetto Bay. She also wanted the piece to last. One part of it, a 14-foot blue canvas structure called "Shelter," has been standing in the mango grove since October 10, and visitors can walk inside it.
The mango grove hosting a major contemporary art piece says a lot about the estate right now. For a year and a half, its best-known building has been off limits. This November, the calendar runs through the grove, the Visitor Center theater, the waterfront lawn and Richmond Cottage instead.
The House Behind the Restoration
The Stone House closed to the public on April 28, 2025, and restoration started that June. Charles Deering's builders finished it in eleven months, between 1922 and early 1923. Its walls are reinforced concrete 18 to 24 inches thick, faced with limestone veneer meant to look like the exposed stone of Tamarit, his residence in Spain.
The restoration project page lists a big scope of work: full restoration of every interior and exterior architectural and structural element, a new roof, repairs to all doors, windows, shutters and screens, a new air-conditioning unit on the third floor, and electrical and HVAC repairs. The team includes R.J. Heisenbottle Architects, HB Construction, the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, and the County Office of Historic Preservation. The estate hasn't posted a reopening date.
The roof is the best story in the project. The handmade terracotta barrel tiles laid in 1922 were shipped from Havana during the land boom, when South Florida didn't have the right clay to make its own. Crews are now removing and documenting them so they can go on display in the museum later. The 100 Ladies of Deering present a short film, "Restoring a Legacy – Stone House at Deering, Chapter 1: The Vision and Preparation," which covers the planning and funding behind the work and can be watched online.
Meanwhile, the daily 11:30 a.m. guided tour covers the Stone House from the outside and Richmond Cottage from the inside. It meets on the cottage's front porch, fills first-come, first-served, and is included with general admission of $18 for adults and $10 for children 4 to 14. The tour also explains how the Stone House's Mediterranean Revival design later influenced Phineas Paist when he helped design Coral Gables. That gives a Palmetto Bay landmark a direct link to the architecture a few miles north. Inside the cottage, museum staff run a series of exhibitions called "Stone House Next Door" that keep telling the house's story.
The Month at a Glance
The estate has scheduled something nearly every weekend through November, and none of it happens inside the Stone House.
Date | Event | Where on the property | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Through Sun., Nov. 8 | "High Tide Low Tide" installation, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Mango grove, waterfront lawn, pathways | Park admission |
Sun., Nov. 8 | "King Tide" sunset gathering and open mic, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. | Lawn, then Visitor Center theater | Free with RSVP |
Sat., Nov. 14 | Bird Walk, 7:30 to 10 a.m. | Grounds | $20 |
Sat. & Sun., Nov. 14–15 | MIAMI short FILM FESTIVAL screenings, 7 p.m. | Visitor Center theater | $20, or $16 student/senior/military |
Sun., Nov. 15 | 14th Annual Vintage Auto Show, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Grounds | $14/$7 in advance, $18/$10 from Nov. 14 |
Fri., Nov. 27 onward | "Tides & Tidings" holiday décor | Richmond Cottage | General admission |
The Grove and the Lawn, Through November 8
"High Tide Low Tide" was built in waves. In the first one, movement artists Jessica Freites and Kathinka Chambers performed around a large blue sculpture called "Sphere" on the waterfront lawn, and blue paintings turned the pathways into what WLRN described as temporary channels. "Shelter" and several other pieces stay up through Sunday, November 8, and you can see them during regular park hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The project ends on November 8 with "King Tide." It starts with a sunset gathering on the lawn and then moves indoors to the Visitor Center theater for an open mic. Amaranta Mattie, the Miami-born curator of Deering Contemporary, hosts. Anyone who signs up gets up to five minutes for poetry, music, storytelling or dance. "Now it's your turn," Mattie told WLRN. The event runs 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and is free, but you need to RSVP through Eventbrite.
The Visitor Center Theater Gets a Second Booking
According to WLRN, Tommerup found the Visitor Center theater while exploring the estate, and that discovery led her to write the theatrical piece that became the project's third wave. The following weekend, the same room hosts two nights of the 25th MIAMI short FILM FESTIVAL. The festival runs November 13 to 16 at several venues, including O Cinema and Silverspot Cinema downtown.
Each Deering night starts with a cocktail reception at 7 p.m., and the films begin at 8.
- Saturday, November 14, "States of Becoming": "The Oracle" by JJ Adler, "La luna que amamos como a un hermano" by Iñaki Velasquez, "Papillon" by Florence Miailhe, and "First Summer" by Gayoung Heo.
- Sunday, November 15, "Wild at Heart": "Big Bad Yucky Monster" by Nicole Lipp, "A Wolf in the Suburbs" by Amélie Hardy, "Asphalt" by Mehdi Ouahab, "¡Que Suene La Banda!" by Jorge Parra Jr., and "MA – MA" by Isabel María Monge Guerrero.
Tickets cost $20 general or $16 for students, seniors and military, and they're sold online only. Parking is free in the Visitor Center lot on SW 168th Street, just west of 72nd Avenue.
November 15, When the Grounds Are the Whole Show
The Vintage Auto Show shows most clearly how the estate's programming has shifted. The 14th annual edition, put on with the Antique Automotive Club of America's South Florida Region, runs Sunday, November 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Display cars are limited to 1965 or earlier, plus International Harvester vehicles of any year, and older antiques get priority. Peterson's Harley-Davidson South is the sponsor.
The event page says the historic house museums will be closed during the show. Everything happens outside. There's a scavenger hunt that uses photo clues to match cars, a children's craft table, lawn games, self-guided nature trails, and the mangrove boardwalk. Nature preserve tours leave at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., and everyone, Foundation members included, signs up on the day. Blankets, lawn chairs and small picnic baskets are welcome.
Tickets cost $14 for adults and $7 for children through 11:59 p.m. Friday, November 13. Starting Saturday the price goes up to $18 and $10. The estate asks everyone to buy or reserve through Miami-Dade's Park Link system ahead of time, but also says some tickets may be sold at the gate if any are left.
On the same weekend, the Saturday Bird Walk starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends by 10, for $20 a person. The estate says the property supports about 200 resident and migratory bird species.
Richmond Cottage Carries the Holidays
Starting Friday, November 27, the holiday season moves into Richmond Cottage with "Tides & Tidings," a coastal theme drawn from Charles Deering's love of seafaring and Biscayne Bay. The cottage is the same building that's been hosting the Stone House exhibitions, and this year its rooms are being decorated by groups from around the area:
- Dining Room and Breakfast Room: Pottery Barn
- Kitchen: Rotary Club of Perrine, Cutler Ridge and Palmetto Bay
- Garden Room, Film Room, Children's Room and stair railings: 100 Ladies of Deering
- Scholar Room: Indie-Annie Jones
- Orientation Room: Artists-in-Residence Susana Behar, Debora Rosental and Aida Tejada
- Paranormal Room: Genealogical Society of Greater Miami
- Front Porch: Pinecrest Garden Club
- Back Porch: Palmetto Bay Garden Club
The décor is up daily through Tuesday, January 6, 2027, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the gates closing at 4. It's included with general admission, and Deering Estate Foundation members get in free. The estate is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each room's sponsor is listed on the Tides & Tidings page.
For anyone planning further ahead, the Deering Seafood Festival is a spring event. The estate's festival page lists the 21st edition for April 11, 2027.
Mauricio J. Barba and the team at Miami Signature Homes follow Palmetto Bay closely, from the Stone House restoration to which weekend the estate is busiest. If you'd like to talk about life near Deering Estate or what your home here is worth, we'd be glad to set up a private consultation and a complimentary home valuation.
