Description: This is the original sign from the Amsterdam Palace on Miami Beach which later became Versace’s home. One of a kind. All offers are welcome. Casa Casuarina was built in 1930 by Alden Freeman. Alden Freeman’s father, Joel Freeman was Treasurer of The Standard Oil Trust (also known as Rockefeller’s Company) and left Alden a fabulous wealth when he passed away. That gave the young and wealthy Alden the opportunity to retire at the age of 27 from being an architect and travel all over the world. Alden was also a descendent of the Mayflower on his mother’s side and felt a very strong tie to history. Freeman, always well-travelled and very intelligent, loved the adventurous spirit of Christopher Columbus and on one of his many trips around the world, went to visit the Alcazar De Colon in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) which was built by Diego Columbus (Christopher Columbus’s Son) and is known for being the oldest residence in the western hemisphere. Alden was so inspired by the house that he decided to build his own home in Miami Beach as homage to the Alcazar De Colon and bought back 2 bricks from the house. One sits to the right hand side of the main entrance and one sits in his former house in the city of Santa Barbara, California (named the “Montarioso” estate, which was later donated to the city and was then restored and studied by the Pearl Chase Society of Santa Barbara). Alden Freeman died at Casa Casuarina on December 29, 1937 following a prolonged illness. The house was then sold to Jacque Amsterdam for $100k, who continued to run the house as an apartment complex that he named the “Amsterdam Palace. In April 1939, Amsterdam did a small renovation of the house in which he installed an elevator shaft (where the current bell is located), replaced the lily pond in the Courtyard with terrazzo flooring and moved the kneeling Aphrodite statue to the front terrace. In the ensuing years, Amsterdam Palace passed through the hands of several owners and hundreds of tenants. For a short time in the 1980’s, the house was called Christopher Columbus Apartments. After a while, the building gradually felt into disrepair, but miraculously, most of the original fittings and artworks survived. In 1992, while on vacation with his family in Miami Beach, Versace took a walk down Ocean Drive and was immediately attracted to the house by the “Kneeling Aphrodite” statue and fell in love with the unique Spanish architecture of the property. Obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, Versace purchased the original house built by Freeman for $2.95 million and the lot next door, an old art deco hotel called the Hotel Revere. A little history lesson so that you can understand and appreciate the significance of this wonderful piece. Please reach out if you have any questions.
Price: 2200 USD
Location: Miami, Florida
End Time: 2025-01-11T06:15:25.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Color: Brownish-aged
Original/Reproduction: Original
Material: Aged Wrought Iron
Age: 1950s
