Versace Mansion - A Palace on Ocean Drive

Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on Miami Beach: Art Deco District Walk, a free self-guided tour.

This is the odd one out on Ocean Drive, and that is the point. Standard Oil heir Alden Freeman built Casa Casuarina in 1930, modeling it on the Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo, the 16th-century palace of Christopher Columbus's son Diego. Freeman's version, all Mediterranean Revival arches, courtyards and tile, later became apartments known as the Amsterdam Palace.

In 1992 fashion designer Gianni Versace bought the house and spent years and a fortune restoring it. He also bought the Revere Hotel next door and tore it down to make room for a pool, garden and new wing, a move that upset preservationists still fighting for the district's older buildings.

On July 15, 1997, Versace was shot and killed on the front steps by Andrew Cunanan. People still leave flowers and take photos here, so please be respectful. The house is now a boutique hotel and restaurant called The Villa Casa Casuarina, so unless you are a guest or diner, enjoy it from the sidewalk.

Getting here: Walk north along Ocean Drive, past the Welcome Center, to 1116 Ocean Drive between 11th and 12th streets.

Did you know?: Versace reportedly paid about 2.95 million dollars for the house in 1992 and 3.7 million for the neighboring hotel a year later, so the building he tore down cost more than the mansion.

Photo op: Cross to the park side of Ocean Drive to fit the whole facade and its tower in one frame.

More on Wikipedia: Casa Casuarina · Gianni Versace · Alcazar de Colon · Andrew Cunanan

Versace Mansion - A Palace on Ocean Drive

Stops on this tour