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Al Capone's
Renovated 93 Palm Avenue home
(Mario Gomes Collection)
I was privileged to see the home before and after. I was invited to see the house again in August of 2012 during an impromptu television interview. This time around, the longtime past owner, Henry 'Hank' Morrison had sold, and vacated the premises. The lodgers who stayed in the pool house, guest / guard house and garage were also gone. The then new owner Peter Corsell, along with the help of realtor Jorge Alonso, General Contractor Diana Martinez, Project manager Magaly Acosta and her skilled team have made the place as regal as it was back when Al Capone first took possession of it. Myalcaponemuseum was proud to have helped with research and old photos to bring the house back to it's old glory just like when Al Capone walked the grounds.
Some necessary modern amenities were put in such as wall and window cooling. I can't imagine how Al and family had lived without those! Peter Corsell renovated to save and preserve the history and had contacted me about this years ago. He is a man of his word and stuck to his guns. Historians should be deeply indebted to him for this, as it was a thankless task, considering all the work that had to be done.
1947 2012
Al Capone's name appears in the Miami Dade 1940 census. Just newly arrived from the Baltimore hospital, his family states he is in Prison.
Inside joke or family doesn't want Al to be questioned by the census taker.
Apart from it's history, it is also a very beautiful home that stands out amongst the same boring repetitive glass designs we see so often today. This is not just another Miami beach home!! It's Al's Capone's place!!!
Color photo of Al Capone's home taken on April 5,1942. Window awnings were put up for the hot summer months ahead. Note the light green clay roof tiles.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Original green clay roof tile from Capone's time at Palm Avenue.
These were replaced with new red clay ones.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
For all the buffs and fans out there, here are some of the shots I took while visiting the house in August of 2012. Feel free to compare with last year's version of the house on other webpages listed here. You will defintely be amazed by the transformation and the workmanship!
Guardhouse entrance/ now main entrance
This house first was used in 1928 to keep guards, later on it held the hired hands and servants. In the 40's gave way to nurses who took care of Al. After Al passed away, it served as a home to Mae's sister and brother in law. Mae's brother also had lived here.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
The other entrance has now been modified.
The circular driveway has now been grassed over giving it a more spacious greener view to the Grotto.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
The view of the beautiful restored Grotto from the street.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Mario Gomes in front of guard house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
In through the guard / guest house entrance door.
The garage was emptied out and restored. The guard / guest house upstairs was professionally renovated to it's past glory with a much needed cooling system.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
The Guest (Guard house) After Capone's death the guard / guest house became a home away from home for Mae's sisters and friends when they stopped for a visit. Mae's sister Muriel Clark and her husband Louis made the transition from Chicago to live in Florida and stayed with Mae for moral support before and after Al's death. They later moved to Hollywood, Florida where Louis Clark found a job as a city maintenance man for the water dept.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Stairway to Guard / Guest house
(Mario Gomes Collection)
First thing we see through the open door. A beautiful original multicolored tiled fireplace.
Two duplexalites grace the ceiling. Outstanding stained floors!
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Ornate original fireplace. It was used for an electrical heating type of fake fireplace.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Close up of fireplace.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Family crest or coat of arms above fireplace. Capone's? Coughlin's? Clark's?
Maybe a mixture of both Capone and Coughlin? Or maybe the owners after Thomas Warren Miller sold the place?
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Update
After being coaxed to say on video that it was (You can actually see me give that smiling look of "Um, okay I'll give ya what you want to hear!") I wanted to right a wrong and find out what this plaque really meant and to whom was it attributed to. After some research with several sites and experts dealing with coat of arms, I was basically told that it can mean many things to many people because the design is comprised of many several family lines with very various common heraldic symbols. Digging deeper and seeing it to fruition would cost $$$, and even at that, it wouldn't give you a real definite answer because of it's personal nature.
My honest opinion is that it isn't at all related to the Capone family because of one easy simple reason.
It isn't in the main house. Why would Capone put this important personal symbol in the guest house? My idea is based on the fact that practically every owner whom lived at 93 Palm Avenue had a family or lodger living in that spare guest house. We are talking 5 times after Capone vacated the place! At the guest house, Mae, her sister Muriel and brother in law Louis Clark lived there until she sold the house and moved. Mae had no longer lived in the main house after Al's death in 1947. I remember one person who emailed saying they had once lived there. Even when I visited Hank Morrison in 2011, he had a lodger living in the guest house. Any of the past lodgers or owners could have made this decorative art attributed to Capone. Makes a nice story doesn't it? Maybe because we badly want it to be what it really isn't?
1st room in guest house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Bathroom in guest house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Second room in guest house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
View of front door and two room entrances.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
View of front entrance through guard house/guest house window. This would have been Mae Capone's view from 1947 to 1952.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Back down the stairs
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Other entrance is now grassed over.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
To the right of the grassed over entrance before the guard/guest house is the famous Capone Grotto and bridge.
This family gathering place may have been the basis for the name of Sonny and Mae's restaurant.
(Grotto info courtesy of T. Capone, Al Capone's granddaughter)
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Mafalda and friend. Ralph Capone.
(Joe Walters collection) (Mario Gomes Collection)
Myalcaponemuseum founder in Capone Shangri-La. Everybody say Ommmmmmmmmm!
(Mario Gomes Collection)
To see a short clip of the working grotto click on mp4 file below!
Bridge in front of grotto.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Albert Francis "Sonny Capone" holding child on the bridge.
(Joe Walters collection)
Lighthouse. The whole house is apparently a feast for the eyes when illuminated at night.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
To the complete left of the grassed over entrance is the main house.
The porch is seen at the left with entrance to living room.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Dining room windows ground floor at right of main door.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Above the dining room is the room where Al stayed near the end of his life, which is logical since there was a room right beside where a nurse or family member could have kept close watch over Al should the need have arisen.
Before Al fell seriously ill, he liked to lookout in this room toward the entrance whenever someone came to visit.
His lifeless body was carried down the stairs with the help of a security guard (off duty policeman) after Dr. Phillips had declared him dead.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Al's view to the old entrance.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Let's go inside and see the new revamped Capone estate. The owner, realtor and design team did an amazing job, all the while keeping the historic aura of the house intact. Not an easy job indeed and they totally pulled it off!!! The front door is the center and access is via the open air porch to the left.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
View through the open air porch from the main entrance. Fireplace and living room is at the right through the double doors.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Front door.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Front main entrance door from the inside.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
once closing the main door, turning around and looking slightly right. The staircase to seond floor. To the right of the staircase is the dining room and to the left of the stair case is the famous lavatory.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Opening the door to the lavatory.
It remains intact from Al's day. All that was done was a few touchups in order to keep it historically correct.
A mirror was being added in the center.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Love this black toilet. Works like a charm!
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Out the bathroom we turn to the right and go in the living / family room.
The fireplace was brought back to it's original state. Someone had plastered over and this was removed. All that was added was a moulding above along with two shelves and a fresh coat of paint.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
In the hall of the main entrance shooting a tv show called "Special Spaces".
Living / family room in background.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Click on photo for video of show.
Close up of fireplace.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
inside the living/ family room look out to the hall / main entrance.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Inside living room looking out on the front porch of the house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Dining room. Al, Mae Sonny and the rest of the Capone family sat down to dinner here.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
To the left of dining room is the kitchen.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Inside kitchen looking out to dining room.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
What a difference a year makes!! Before and after just to show off the magnificent work. kitchen leads out to this play room at the back of the house. Above this room was once Al's and Mae's master bedroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Back to the main hall. Let's go upstairs! Stairway to master bedroom and other bedrooms.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Up these stairs, turn around facing the opposite direction, and to the left is the entrance to the master bedroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
To the left is a bathroom which once lead to the roof. It's been replaced with a window.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Entrance to the hallway and Master bedroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Hallway to the master bedroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Master bedroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Master bedroom looking towards hallway entrance.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
The view from the master bedroom looking out to the pool house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Interesting step in closet of master bedroom. This in fact was the entrance to Al Capone's hanging bathrooms that had his and her powder rooms. In there were the green nile and lavendar tiles such as was found at the Lexington hotel.
Back out of the master bedroom and into the hall again.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Left side spare room and right bathroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Other room near (other side) Master bedroom.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Original Bathroom across the room up above.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Back to the stairway toward the top front of the house.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
At top to the left room where Al died and room to the right is where a spare room is.
From inside spare room we see left; hallway door, in the middle we see the room where Al died and door to the right is a closet.
It would have been most convienient to have someone in this spare room to watch over Al in his final days. Let's go in Al's room.
Turn around and there is the closet in the room where Al died. Two entrances to this room, one from the spare room and one from the hall entrance.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Original bathroom in Al's final room.
(Mario Gomes Collection)
Original Bathtub.
(Mario Gomes Collection)