Al Capones Miami Home, Where He Schemed and Died, Is Ready for Its Close-Up

Table Of Content

• New York City
• Content Manager and Tour Guide
• Take a Look Around Al Capone’s Historic Miami House Where he Lived and Died
• Federal intervention
• DeSantis demolition law clears way for hit job on Al Capone’s Miami mansion
• St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
• Al Capone’s Miami Beach mansion saved from demolition sells for $15.5M

With our Chicago neighborhoods, vibrant cultural institutions and nearly two centuries of larger-than-life stories, there’s never a dull moment here! I’m a fifth generation Chicagoan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. In addition to guiding tours, I’m a creative writer and amateur genealogist. You can also read overlooked stories from 19th-century newspapers on my “Second Glance History” blog. There is no shortage of things to discover in Chicago—I love being an urban explorer and uncovering its hidden places. I have an MA in Public History from Loyola University Chicago, and I have worked as a museum educator and kindergarten teacher.

New York City

After being released from Alcatraz in ill health because of paresis, a partial paralysis resulting from syphilis, he lived in the island house until his death in 1947. The onetime feared boss of the Chicago mob died of cardiac arrest in a guest room. In 1928, a 29-year-old Capone paid $40,000 for the house, which served, for a time, as a sunny refuge from the bitter Chicago winters. The gangster was convicted of tax evasion three years later and served seven and a half years in federal prison.

Content Manager and Tour Guide

He was convicted of tax evasion in 1931, and spent eight years in prison,  before returning to his Palm Island home in 1939, where he lived until his death from cardiac arrest in 1947. Chicago has so many neighborhoods, buildings, and by-ways that it’s hard to go long without seeing something new, or something familiar from a new angle. I’ve worked as a culture writer for various publications and as an educator of the humanities at the City Colleges of Chicago. I’m thrilled to share my love of this city’s busy past and unique architectural spaces with Chicago Detours. A pistol that the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone nicknamed "sweetheart" is once again up for auction.

Take a Look Around Al Capone’s Historic Miami House Where he Lived and Died

The flashy, vicious Scarface who enjoyed the spotlight was losing his faculties. The mob boss bought his home on Miami Beach’s Palm Island waterfront the year before the massacre, in 1928. He laid down $40,000 for a 6,000-foot main villa, then spent another $200,000 to build a gatehouse facing the street, a seven-foot-high wall, search lights, a coral rock grotto and a cabana facing the water. According to Preservation Nation, Capone wanted protection on both sides of the estate.

MB American co-founder and architect Monica Melotti led the architecture and design renovations of Capone’s mansion. Needless to say, Capone did not receive a warm welcome from the Miami authorities. Many were outraged by his presence – leading to multiple questionable arrests of the man.

Nearly half of US needs $110k+ income to afford median-priced home

Similarly, dozens of old buildings in Chicago seem to claim that Capone drank and/or killed someone there. With the 90th anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre right around the corner, we thought it was worth finding out which extant buildings were really a part of Al Capone’s Chicago. Plus, if you want to visit these sites several of them have some pretty awesome historic architecture, too. In the end, Al Capone’s story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the corrupting influence of power. Though he may have risen to the heights of wealth and influence, his legacy is ultimately one of violence, corruption, and betrayal.

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The L-shaped 6,077-square-foot main structure sits on a 30,000 square-foot waterfront site, according to Miami-Dade property records. Al Capone bought this Miami house (obscured by trees in this photo) in 1928 and died there in 1947. The 6,077 square-foot four-bedroom property has now been bought by developer Todd Michael Glaser, who recently purchased, and then demolished, Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion. Infamous crime boss Al Capone caused a stir in polite society back in 1928 when he snapped up a property on upscale Palm Island in Miami.

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

Capone was never indicted for his racketeering but was finally brought to justice for income-tax evasion in 1931. Capone’s life captured the public imagination, and his gangster persona has been immortalized in the many movies and books inspired by his exploits. Federal authorities became intent on jailing Capone and charged him with twenty-two counts of tax evasion. During a highly publicized case, the judge admitted as evidence Capone's admissions of his income and unpaid taxes, made during prior (and ultimately abortive) negotiations to pay the government taxes he owed.

It had a heated pool, a cabana bar, and a European courtyards, which he probably enjoyed far more than prison bars and courthouses. Via CBS, Capone's Miami mansion sat on a 30,000-square-foot lot and had one of the biggest swimming pools in the city, a 60-foot by 30-foot behemoth. Capone spent the final years of his life in Miami, according to History, and according to anyone with eyes, he went out in style. This essay about the enduring legacy of Al Capone explores his profound impact on organized crime during the Prohibition era. It discusses Capone’s rise to power, his ruthless business tactics, and his far-reaching influence on American society. Through his bootlegging empire, strategic alliances, and corrupt practices, Capone transformed the criminal landscape and left a lasting imprint on history.

Al Capone had more money than he had sense, which is really saying something since he was a criminal mastermind. He was able to use that dough to buy a palatial place in Miami, a massive mansion in New Jersey, and a comparatively modest brick two-flat in Chicago's Lincoln Park Manor neighborhood. Per the Inquirer, this humble Illinois home measured 2,820 square feet and had an apartment on each floor. Curbed Chicago writes that according to urban legend, the brick two-flat had a secret tunnel to his detached garage, but if it did exist, it no longer does.

From there, he began living a luxurious and public lifestyle, spending money lavishly, although always in cash to avoid a trail. Newspapers of the time estimated Capone’s operations generated $100 million in revenue annually. Torrio was running a numbers and gambling operation near Capone’s home when Capone began running small errands for him. Although Torrio left Brooklyn for Chicago in 1909, the two remained close. Early on, Capone stuck to legitimate employment, working in a munitions factory and as a paper cutter.

There was nothing in Capone’s childhood or family life that could have predicted his rise to infamy as America’s most notorious gangster. Deirdre Marie Capone, the mobster’s great-niece and only living family member with memories of the “majestic” mansion, said she was saddened by its demise. Apparently notorious crime boss Al Capone had a soft spot for sunshine and warmth after spending so many years living through harsh Chicago winters. He purchased a sprawling seaside estate on Palm Island in Miami in 1928, and lived there after his 1939 release from jail until his death in 1947, according to CBS Miami.

The eye-popping architectural detail of the Crystal Ballroom is where the iconic baseball bat scene from The Untouchables was filmed. Of course, Capone didn’t actually beat rivals to death in that gorgeous room. The Crystal Ballroom is the site where “Lucky” Luciano hosted a gangster’s convention in 1931, though.

Al Capone's granddaughters initially put the pistol up for auction in 2021, alongside about 200 of their grandfather's personal belongings. Witherell's auction house, based in Sacramento, facilitated the bidding on a broad range of items Capone had owned during his life that by then were part of his estate, including jewelry, watches and numerous weapons of varying types. The .45, which sold in the end for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than anticipated, went to a private collector. In 1923, when Chicago elected a reformist mayor who announced that he planned to rid the city of corruption, Torrio and Capone moved their base beyond the city limits to suburban Cicero. To ensure they could continue doing business, Torrio and Capone initiated an intimidation effort on the day of the election, March 31, 1924, to guarantee their candidate would get elected.