Stephen Sondheim’s longtime New York City townhouse has sold for $7 million, according to listing agent Michael Franco of Compass. Franco declined to name the buyer, but said the purchaser is a Sondheim fan based in New York City who plans to make the Midtown townhouse his primary residence. [Source: Mansionglobal.com]
The seven-bedroom, roughly 5,700-square-foot townhouse received two offers after Sondheim’s estate listed it for $7 million in July, said Franco. The late Broadway composer and lyricist owned the house for about 60 years before his death at age 91 in late 2021. His estate didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Franco said the house sold quickly because of its notable history and because it was well-priced.
Sondheim bought the five-story house in Turtle Bay around 1960, after writing the lyrics for the musicals “West Side Story” in 1957 and “Gypsy” in 1959, according to the book “Manhattan’s Turtle Bay: Story of a Midtown Neighborhood” by Pamela Hanlon. He rented out the top three floors of the house until around 1973 to help pay the mortgage, according to the book.
The house is in Turtle Bay Gardens, a collection of 1860s townhomes that share a communal garden. The area is known for drawing artistic residents over the decades, and actress Katharine Hepburn was Sondheim’s longtime neighbor.
Sondheim’s 19-foot-wide townhouse contains a music studio with a wood-burning fireplace, where the composer kept a baby grand piano, said Franco. Through a dramatic wooden arch, a solarium has original stained glass windows and a 30-foot terrace overlooking the garden, he said. The primary suite spans the fourth floor, and the fifth floor has a studio apartment for live-in staff.
The composer of works including “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” Sondheim won an Oscar, a Pulitzer Prize, and numerous Grammy and Tony awards during his career. Around 1980 he bought a home in Roxbury, Conn., which was listed for $3.25 million in November, but he maintained his New York residence until his death. He married actor Jeffrey Romley in 2017. Romley didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. [Source: Mansionglobal.com]
