Would you like to live in a beachfront home built by a race car legend who hosted pool parties for astronauts during the heyday of the space industry?
Now is your chance.
The Indialantic home built and lived in by Indianapolis 500 champion Jim Rathmann is for sale. Rathmann built the home after his 1960 win, which earned him $110,000.
He opened Jim Rathmann Chevrolet in Melbourne in 1961 and arranged for the first astronauts to be able to lease cars – usually Chevy Corvettes – at a reasonable price. This led to a friendship with many of the astronauts.
Rathmann died in 2011 at the age of 83 in a hospice in Brevard County.
Where is Rathmann’s former home?
The home is located at 500 Palmetto Place in Indialantic on a 0.45 acre corner lot.
The four-bedroom, four-bathroom home is a short walk to a park and the beach. There’s a gourmet kitchen, custom cabinetry, a whole-house generator, and many more amenities.
The home’s most famous feature, however, is an oversized saltwater pool, complete with cabana bath.
“I was told 500 Palmetto was a place where astronauts entertained and enjoyed the huge swimming pool in the backyard,” said Aaron Young of Island Pineapple Realty.
Over the last six years, the house has been renovated and given a mid-century modern look.
How did Rathmann’s friendship with astronauts develop?
Apparently it all started in the early 1960s when he rented Corvettes to Apollo astronauts.
Remember we said Rathmann offered a deal to the astronauts, including the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong? The deal was to lease a Corvette for a year for just $1.
Pat Fischer of the Nissan dealership in Titusville previously recalled to FLORIDA TODAY how the exchange between Armstrong and Rathmann went.
“So (Armstrong) goes down to buy this car at Jim Rathmann Chevrolet, and Jim Rathmann recognizes who he is and gives it to him,” Pat Fischer, Nissan car dealer in Titusville, told FLORIDA TODAY. “So (Armstrong) takes it back, and NASA, the government, says, ‘You’re not getting a free car, you have to get it back.’ So he goes and takes it back, and Jim Rathmann says, ‘Oh, hell no, open your wallet and give me a dollar.’ So he gives him a dollar and says, ‘Sold.'”
According to a General Motors press release, Rathmann began selling the $1 Corvettes to the Mercury astronauts before Armstrong came along.
Rathmann and his car dealership appeared on the big screen in “The Stuff Heroes Are Made Of”
Rathmann’s car dealership was featured in the television series “The Stuff Heroes Are Made Of,” which is loosely based on the book of the same name by Tom Wolfe. The series, whose executive producer was actor Leonardo DiCaprio, was based on the early days of the U.S. space program.
A building in Titusville was used to mimic Rathmann’s Chevrolet dealership. The show premiered on Disney+ in October 2020, but was canceled less than a year later.
Rathmann’s racing career
Rathmann began racing professionally at the age of 16.
He qualified for the Indy 500 for the first time in 1949 at the age of 20. He finished 11th.th place this year.
By 1959 he had finished second three times but had never won. That lasted until the following year.
Rathmann and Rodger Ward, the driver who beat him the previous year, were neck and neck for most of the race, with Rathmann pulling out a last-gasp win in what many consider to be the greatest Indy 500 race of all time.
Spitzer is a trending reporter. Reach her at [email protected].
