He was America’s most wanted criminals and this piece of news seems to have only buoyed homebuyers’ interest in his Miami beach house.
A gangster who led the Prohibition-era crime syndicate, Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone spent the last years of his life in this Miami beach house, which came on the market last month.
The 93 Palm AV, Miami Beach house, which is listed for $9.95 million and at a premium, is currently owned by investment banker Peter L Corsell. However, he moved out last year and the news of sale has lured a lot of history buffs to the shore.
"I thought that we would get all these hip-hoppers," Jorge Alonso, the real estate agent in charge for the Douglas Elliman firm, told Bradenton Herald. "But for now I have been mostly dealing with people that are history buffs. One of them (a potential buyer) even looked just like one of the Sopranos!"
Recently, the house also had another interesting visitor – his grand-niece, Deirdre Marie Capone, who is also believed to be Al Capone’s last living relative. According to the Bradenton Herald, Deirdre was just seven when Al Capone died and she had seen him only a handful of times in this Miami house.
The 30,000 square feet house has been remodelled and restored to its former glory, with the iconic pool cabana, seven bedroom, five full bathrooms and two powder rooms all intact. Another highlight of the property is its 30'x60' swimming pool, which hosted some of the best parties during Al Capone’s retirement days.
"I remember it so well because this was an odd pool," Deirdre told the Herald. "It had salt water, and it was connected to the bay so the water level would rise and fall. There were fish and algae and I thought, well, is this really what pools are like?"
But apart from replacing the salt water with fresh water, the pool has undergone no other alteration. Capone has always piqued Miami residents’ interests. For instance, the paper reports that in 2010, the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami re-enacted Capone's perjury trial, and many preservation advocated urged architect to retain the house’s original character during the renovation.
The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables has even named one of its suites “The Al Capone Suite."
