Casa Eleda Palm Beach: The Historic $105 Million “Ham and Cheese House”

Casa Eleda, Maurice Fatio’s 1920s oceanfront residence in Palm Beach, has returned to the market at $105 million after a multi-year restoration that preserved its historic character.

Casa Eleda Palm Beach, known locally as the “Ham and Cheese House”, is asking $105 million. The property was designed around 1928 by Swiss-born architect Maurice Fatio for banker Mortimer Schiff and his wife Adele. Its name, Eleda, is Adele spelled backwards.

The house is distinguished by its Italian Romanesque architecture and alternating bands of brick and pale coquina stone, the detail that gave it its informal nickname. Inside, the approximately 13,200-square-foot residence has seven bedrooms, while the estate occupies just over an acre of oceanfront land. There is roughly 150 feet of Atlantic frontage.

The property's relationship with the beach is unusually direct. A private tunnel beneath South Ocean Boulevard leads to a beachside cabana, while the main grounds include multiple loggias, a swimming pool and landscaping by Mario Nievera. Current listing material also credits Susan Zises Green with interior design and Smith Architectural Group with interior architecture.

Casa Eleda was acquired in 2013 for $15.975 million by Marion H. Antonini and his wife Penny, who subsequently undertook a multi-year renovation. The work preserved significant historic elements and received a preservation award in 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Listed by Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate, the property is now being presented as a piece of Palm Beach architectural history as much as a waterfront residence. The $105 million figure remains an asking price, not a completed sale or market record.