Versace Mansion Goes To I
t’s been a rocky road for one of Miami’s most expensive and illustrious mansions, and if houses could talk, this one would tell you the story of the joys and disappointments of its 83 years. Te mansion was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman who was an architect and philanthropist with connections to the Standard Oil fortune. He modeled the home after the Alcazar de Colon mansion in the
36
waterfrontmagazines.co.uk Auction
Dominican Republic. Alcazar de Colon was the home of the son of Christopher Columbus and the oldest existing house in the Western Hemisphere. After Freeman died in 1937 the home was purchased by Jacques Amsterdam, who called it Te Amsterdam Palace. From 1937 until 1992 when designer-to the-stars (think Madonna, Princess Diana and Cher) Gianni Versace purchased the property, the home was somewhat of a crash pad for various
hipsters and intellectuals, and the estate’s upkeep was spotty. Versace bought Te Amsterdam Palace and
an adjacent lot in 1992 for almost $10 million, and then spent millions to restore the home to its former glory. He added a 6,100 square foot south wing, a mosaic-covered courtyard, frescoes on the home’s walls and ceilings, and a gold-lined swimming pool with over one million hand-laid mosaic tiles. Versace invested
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68