Florida’s Landmark Mansion Hits Market for $18
Million
Friday, December 11th 2009
Perry Snell’s waterfront mansion, considered as one of
the most beautiful homes in Florida, was just listed for $18
million, in the St Petersburg/ Tampa Bay area.
Built in the 1920’s on Brightwaters Blvd, (famed
multimillion dollar homes that hug the waterfront within minutes of
ritzy downtown area) on manicured grounds with six hundred feet of
bay frontage. This landmark property recently underwent a full
scale two year revitalization and restoration program by the
current ownership, who were responsible for preserving and reviving
Snell’s crowning architectural achievement.
Perry Snell, the legendary developer in Florida, staked out
this rare site for his main residence in the early 1920’s and
reportedly filled several railway cars with Italian marble and a
treasure trove of antiquities collected during his travels
throughout Europe to be used in its construction. He took full
advantage of the spectacular setting as a backdrop to his unique
architectural style: A blend of Spanish Revival with Italian
Renaissance.
Today the home has been brought back to its original splendor
and restored to the highest world class standards. A crew of over
100 master craftsmen and artisans were on site daily for two years,
painstakingly returning the mansion to its original palatial
glory.
A premier location and property on 1.6 acres, with approx
600ft of sailboat waterfront on Tampa Bay, it offers panoramic
views and features separate guest quarters, a 75ft heated lap pool
and spa, coral walkways, lush tropical landscaping, a reflection
pool, a waterlily pond and of course the home itself, that was
built by Perry Snell for his primary winter residence is almost
10,000htd sf, with 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, Florida, family and
bonusrooms plus library/office.
A palatial 3-story Mizner style beauty with intricate details
from floor to ceiling that speaks for itself. The home was designed
for glamorous entertaining and indoor-to-outdoor living, with
patios, pools, courtyards, balconies and terraces large bedrooms,
high ceilings, and spacious entertaining rooms.
The current ownership purchased the home in 2006. Much of the
home at the time was altered to accommodate the needs of the family
and the decades of changing trends and styles. Today’s owners
saw the need to preserve this special landmark, saving it from
potentially being demolished by developers looking to build several
homes on the land.
Everything was restored and alterations by the previous
owners were removed to preserve the Snell Heritage: From fireplaces
to light fixtures, plaster, stucco to woodwork, hardware, trimwork,
fixtures and fittings, details and accessories. Many restored and
salvaged items are several centuries old and found throughout
castles and buildings in Europe. Anything new was crafted in the
highest quality materials. Master Craftsmen were employed to
replicate columns and add balconies, artists revived intricate
paintings on the ceiling beams that were hidden beneath layers of
wallpaint, pecky cypress and marble was restored or salvaged,
hidden fireplaces unveiled, arches and ceiling beams were
rediscovered beneath layers of paint, the gourmet kitchen,
bathrooms and butler’s pantry was rebuilt with the highest
respect for the past,while state of the art audio, visual and
security systems were added throughout the home. Patios, lacey
ironwork, columns, balustrades and balconies were replicated, the
seawall was replaced and the private fishing pier restored plus
dockage added to hold several large watercraft.
View from the cache:
