Villa Paula (Miami)
Villa Paula is a neoclassical-style home in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It was designed by Havana architect Cayetano Freira and built in 1926 by the Cuban government as a residence for its consul, Domingo Milord and his wife Paula Milord, for whom he named the home. Paula's name still appears in plaster above the home's entrance.
Villa Paula's materials, and the workers who built it, were imported from Cuba. The house originally had ten rooms, two baths, 18-foot-high ceilings, hand-painted floor tiles, and Tuscan columns. In 1983, the City of Miami designated the structure historic. In 1987, that designation was amended to include the interior and an adjacent lot.
Domingo and Paula Milord moved out of the home in 1930 following political upheavals in Cuba and the home ceased to serve in any official capacity for the Cuban government. Despite a widely-reported story that Paula Milord was buried in the home’s garden, a 2019 Miami New Times story clearly debunked that claim. Paula died two years after she moved out of the home at the age of 61. Furthermore, the concrete sarcophagus, where she is allegedly entombed, was not present on the property until at least the late 1980’s. That structure is most likely a shrine erected by a later owner, according to sources quoted in the Miami New Times story.
After the Milords left the home in 1930, it was purchased by Helen Reardon, a wealthy widow from Wisconsin. Reardon lived at Villa Paula with her two daughters, Constance and Murice, and Constance’s two children Sirdar Benner and Lord Lee Benner. Reardon died in 1970 at the age of 93.
The home changed hands several times and briefly operated as a senior citizens' residence. By the mid-70's, however, as the surrounding neighborhood grew blighted, Villa Paula was left vacant and fell into disrepair. Later that decade, it was purchased by Clif Ensor, who restored the home to its prior glory.
Shortly after moving into the home, Ensor began telling local news outlets that the home was haunted by the ghost of Paula Milord (even though she did not live there when she died and is not buried on the property). From that time forward, the rumor has persisted and expanded. In 2008, however, Ensor told Biscayne Times reporter Terence Cantarella: “After leaving Villa Paula, I lived in five other haunted homes.” That statement has cast doubt on the source of his experiences at Villa Paula.
Ensor sold the home in 1987 to Haitian pediatrician Lucien Albert. Albert sold Villa Paula to its current owners in 2003. It now serves as a private art gallery and is for sale.
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