Got $5.9 million? Naples Island's 'Pink Palace' is up for sale

The “Pink Palace,” one of Naples Island’s first ever homes and an exemplar of the Mission Revival style, is on the market.

Naples Island’s developer, Arthur M. Parsons, built the waterfront home in 1907 for his son, C.M. Parsons. This is the first time since 1955 anyone has put the house on the market, according to listing agent Keith Muirhead of Equity Brokers.

The asking price? $5.9 million.

“This is a classic home for Naples,” Muirhead said. “This is one of the first five or eight built.”

At more than one century old, the Pink Palace is remarkable because its Mission Revival design was somewhat unusual for its time, Muirhead said. Victorian stylings were still in vogue at the time, so Parsons’ decision to style the home after the Spanish buildings of early Califoia was an interesting one.

“They mixed it up a bit. That’s why this, again, is a landmark for people,” Muirhead said.

The Pink Palace stands at 5809 Corso di Napoli. The home takes its name from its pale pink exterior — think of a caation-like shade — and has a balcony as well as a tile roof befitting its Mission Revival heritage. The property also boasts three boat slips and clear view of Alamitos Bay to Alamitos Peninsula on the opposite side of the water.

The house encompasses slightly more than 4,000 square feet of living space and takes up most of its nearly 4,900-square-foot lot. The property’s interior features dark-colored hardwood floors and other hardwood appointments. The house is also built on a raised foundation and even features a basement, which as noted by Muirhead, is a rarity for a property built on the water at zero sea level.

Although the Pink Palace has a significant place in the story of Naples Island, Muirhead said it has not been designated as a historic landmark.

That means whoever buys the home can theoretically undertake significant renovations or even raze the property to build another home in its place.

Whether tearing down the Pink Palace would make a future buyer popular to one’s new neighbors, however, is another matter.

“Everybody on Naples wants to see it restored,” Muirhead said.

Tom Poe, owner of Naples Walking Tours, is among those who would like to see the Pink Palace restored to its earlier glory.

“I couldn’t emphasize more how much I would like it to be preserved,” Poe said. “If you look at any of the historic records, you see it as one of the classic first houses.”

Dr. James Gordon “Gordy” Bateman was the last person to purchase the Pink Palace. The Canadian-bo Bateman studied medicine at University of Miesota and married another student, Dr. Olive Lundgren, before joining the navy during World War II to serve on board submarines as a medical officer, according to his paid obituary in the Press-Telegram.

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Bateman, who Poe said was also a champion-caliber fisherman during his lifetime, had five children and spent part of his career at Long Beach Memorial.

Bateman died in September 2012 and one of his heirs listed the Naples Island home for sale, Muirhead said.

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