Al Capone’s mansion in Miami Beach has been demolished. Why wasn’t it saved?
A century-old mansion in Miami Beach that was gangster Al Capone’s final residence has been demolished, despite the efforts of local preservationists to save it.
The home at 93 Palm Avenue was torn down last week, eliminating hope for those who had pushed for it to be saved ever since demolition plans were announced in 2021.
Nearly 26,000 people had signed an online petition to preserve it.
“What we believe is that we need to remember all the different parts of our history, whether they are good or bad,” said Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League. “This is now a cautionary tale of what happens when we don’t have the right protections and incentives in place.”
The Chicago crime boss bought the 30,000-square-foot Miami Beach property for $40,000 in 1928, six years after it was built. He returned frequently and hosted lavish parties there during the Prohibition era. After spending most of the 1930s in federal prison, he returned to the home for his final years. He died there in 1947.
The property, whose ownership has changed hands several times since Capone’s wife sold it in 1952, consisted of a main house, a guest house and a pool house. It was one of the first homes built on man-made Palm Island, now an enclave for wealthy residents.
The main and guest houses were demolished last week, Ciraldo said. The demolition was first reported by WPLG.
The mansion’s fate became almost certain late last year, when the property owner, the Claramonte family living next door, requested a demolition permit from the city of Miami Beach. The city issued the permit July 20.
Prospects to save the home have been bleak since the state Legislature modified its property laws last summer to prohibit local authorities from stopping demolitions of low-lying houses in designated flood zones.
Previously, owners of single-family homes built prior to 1942 needed to go through a tedious approval process that included meeting with the city’s Design Review Board for approval of any new construction set to replace an existing structure.
The new state law prompted the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board to cancel a long-awaited hearing last July to decide whether the house deserved historic designation. The City Commission would have had the final say.
“It was determined by the city attorney that the Historic Preservation Board did not have the authority to consider the application without the consent of the property owner,” city spokesperson Melissa Berthier said.
Some city commissioners questioned the property’s historic value. At a March 2022 meeting, Commissioner David Richardson said he was troubled by “the notion that we would somehow celebrate” a notorious mobster once dubbed “Public Enemy No. 1.”
Locals weren’t thrilled to have Capone in town at the time. In 1930, with the public up in arms, Dade Public Safety Director S.D. McCreary ordered police to arrest Capone “on sight” whenever he left the Palm Island home.
Now, with most of the site relegated to a pile of rubble, it’s not clear what’s next.
Albert and Karise Claramonte, who acquired the property in 2021 for $15.5 million and placed it in a trust, could not be reached for comment. Toni Alam, the family’s trust representative, also could not be reached.
The property is listed for sale on real estate website Trulia for $31 million — with no mention of the infamous mob boss who once lived there. Instead, the listing boasts of “the chance to build your dream waterfront mansion.”
“Don’t miss out on the incredible opportunity at 93 Palm Ave,” it says, “the ultimate waterfront paradise on Miami Beach!”
