Every Indoor Hour at the Deering Estate This Season Runs Through Richmond Cottage

If you're planning a ghost tour, a holiday visit or the 11:30 a.m. museum tour at the Deering Estate this fall, which building will you actually walk into? This season the answer is the same every time: Richmond Cottage.

The Stone House closed to the public on Monday, April 28, 2025. That makes this the second fall season without it, and the estate's restoration page gives no reopening date. A September 2026 South Dade Spotlight preview said the house is closed "this year." That's accurate, but it leaves out that the closure started a year and a half ago. Until the house reopens, the programs that used to be spread across two historic buildings at 16701 SW 72nd Avenue now share one.

What is happening behind the Stone House walls

The work is a full restoration. The Stone House Restoration Project page lists every interior and exterior architectural and structural element. It also covers re-roofing; repair of all doors, windows, shutters and screens; repairs to the electrical and HVAC systems; and a new air-conditioning unit on the third floor. The project team is R.J. Heisenbottle Architects, HB Construction, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department, and the Miami-Dade County Office of Historic Preservation. According to the estate's timeline, restoration began in June 2025. The project page doesn't list a cost, a funding source or a finish date.

The scale of the job makes sense given how the house was built. Its walls are 18 and 24 inches thick, made of reinforced concrete with a limestone veneer meant to look like Tamarit, another Deering residence in Spain. Construction took eleven months and wrapped up between 1922 and early 1923. The estate's museum tour also points out that the Stone House's Mediterranean Revival design later influenced Phineas Paist's work in Coral Gables.

The roof is the most Miami part of the project. The estate describes the tiles this way:

"Installed in 1922 during the construction of the Stone House, the clay roof tiles at the Deering Estate were imported from Cuba at a time when South Florida relied on Caribbean craftsmanship to achieve the Mediterranean Revival style."

Those handmade terracotta barrel tiles came from Havana by steamship. Crews are now removing and documenting each one so it can be preserved for future display in the museum. When the house reopens, some of its old roof will be on display inside.

One cottage, every indoor program

The estate isn't skipping its indoor season. It has moved the season next door. A series of exhibitions called Stone House Next Door now runs inside Richmond Cottage and tells the Stone House's story, along with the Deering family's, from that building. Every indoor program on the fall calendar follows the same setup.

Guided museum tours. These run daily at 11:30 a.m. and are included with paid general admission. The tour now covers the Stone House from the outside and Richmond Cottage from the inside, and it meets on the cottage's porch.

Historic Ghost Tours. Tours run Tuesday and Thursday nights through October 29, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Because the Stone House is closed, they stay inside Richmond Cottage. Tickets are $45, and Deering Estate Foundation members save 10%. The tour is open to ages 9 and up, and the Spotlight notes that some stories are meant for older ears. Bring your own flashlight, wear closed-toe shoes and pack bug spray. Check in at the Main Gate 15 minutes early, because late arrivals aren't admitted or refunded.

Tides & Tidings. This year's holiday décor exhibit has a coastal, Biscayne Bay theme inspired by Charles Deering's love of the sea. It was created by the estate with the Deering Estate Foundation, 100 Ladies of Deering and volunteers. Every decorated space on the exhibit page is in Richmond Cottage: the Dining Room, Kitchen, Breakfast Room, Garden Room, Scholar Room, Film Room, Children's Room, stairway railings, Hotel Room with Bathroom, Archeology/Orientation Room, Paranormal Room, and the front and back porches. At the time of research, designers for each room were still listed as "to be announced."

The closure shows up on the estate's wedding page too. A "Pardon Our Progress" notice sits on the Stone House Museum listing, next to outdoor settings like the Courtyard and the Royal Palm Grove.

The season on one page

Here is the estate's fall and winter calendar from today, October 4, through early January, with the Village of Palmetto Bay's nearby park events alongside it.

The holiday exhibit's ticket prices are the estate's regular general admission: $18 for adults 15 and up and $10 for children ages 4 to 14, plus tax. Foundation members and children under 4 get in free, and members don't need to reserve. The exhibit page lists slightly different hours in two places. The estate's visitor page settles it: the grounds are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no admission after 4 p.m. The estate is closed on Thanksgiving, November 26, so Tides & Tidings opens the next morning.

When the cottage closes too, the grounds stay open

With all indoor programming in one building, any day the house museums close leaves the estate with no indoor option at all. November 15 is one of those days. The Vintage Auto Show brings cars from 1965 and earlier to the grounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are required, and the event page says the historic house museums will be closed during the show. The visitor page also warns that museums may close during special events or at other times without notice.

The outdoor side of the estate isn't affected by the restoration. The Main Grounds, Mangrove Boardwalk and Garden Brook Trail are open daily for self-guided walks. Guided nature preserve tours run daily at 12:30 p.m. from October 1 through May 31, 2027, and the South Hammock Trail is listed for self-guided visits too. The museum tour leaves at 11:30 a.m. and the nature tour at 12:30 p.m., so you can take both in one visit, ending at the cottage porch before heading into the hammock.

The Community Action Days are the most hands-on way to spend time at the estate while the house is closed. Volunteers pull invasive plants, spread mulch, plant natives and pick up litter. You need to be 15 or older and sign up ahead of time through Miami-Dade Park Link. These mornings usually fall on the second Saturday of the month, which this fall means October 10, November 14 and December 12.

Thursday nights, inside and out

Through October, Thursday evenings in Palmetto Bay offer two different outings. Indoors, the ghost tours run in Richmond Cottage. Outdoors, the Village's Sunset Eats Night Market sets up at Palmetto Bay Park from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The Village calendar has listed the market every Thursday since September 3, and it continues weekly through December 17, Thanksgiving night included. After the last ghost tour on October 29, the market at 17535 SW 95th Avenue is the Thursday-night option that keeps going. On the Saturday before the ghost tours end, Coral Reef Park hosts the Village's Halloween Trick-or-Treat & Movie Night on October 24, from 6 to 9 p.m.

At the estate, the biggest open question is still the one the restoration page doesn't answer. The Stone House's progress is posted on the Deering Estate's project page, and any reopening date will most likely show up there first. For the season ahead, every indoor visit to Deering goes through Richmond Cottage.

Owning an older Miami home comes with its own version of the Stone House work: roofs, windows, shutters and systems that call for careful records and the right timing. If you live near the estate and want to know how upkeep and upgrades like these affect your home's value, Jordan Casañas is happy to walk through it with you, in English or Spanish. Get a Free Valuation and start with a clear number.