This unusual beach mansion mystified the MS Coast. Did Oprah really live there?
If you dined at the original Pirate’s Cove restaurant on the beach in Pass Christian, chances are you remember seeing an ornate mansion to east of the popular eatery.
The sprawling estate was easily identifiable because the Greek architecture didn’t look like any other home on Highway 90 when it was built in the early 2000s.
The home, surrounded by stone walls and gates adorned with angels, was grand and unique. But it was also a mystery to many who lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Rumor has it, it belonged to Whoopi Goldberg. And Oprah. And Emeril Lagasse.
The Sun Herald reported in 2003 that many Coast residents believed that the famous chef from New Orleans lived there. Mail arrived with his name on it regularly.
But all of that was good old-fashioned folklore. But the story of the brick villa is far less majestic — and far more dramatic — than the stories told about it to this day.
The stone mansion, known locally as “The Castle,” was owned by a European woman named Marina Vassiliou and was built by developer Jordan Whiteman.
Vassiliou put the home on the market for $1.8 million in 2003 because “the owner’s health suffers in the South Mississippi heat and humidity,” according to Sun Herald archives.
Whiteman sold the estate to I.V. and Mary Jeansonne, who already lived in a beachview mansion on the Coast.
In 2004, the Jeansonnes sued Whiteman, who was not a licensed contractor or real estate agent. The Jeansonnes told the Sun Herald then that the home began to leak shortly after their purchase.
But the drama would soon end and the mansion would become a memory when Hurricane Katrina destroyed it on August 29, 2005.
Do you remember this polarizing property? Here’s a list of amenities once found inside the home.
- 1,800-square-foot master bedroom with three fireplaces
- Two-story living room
- Hand-painted domed ceiling
- Library
- A special room for original owner’s 12 dogs
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
