The longtime Manhattan home of the late legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim hit the market Wednesday for $7 million.Located in Turtle Bay Gardens, a collection of 20 townhouses on East 48th and East 49th streets, the residence was home to the “Into the Woods” and “Sweeney Todd” composer from the mid-1960s until his death in November 2021 at age 91. Built in 1908, the five-story residence is 19 feet wide and located behind a wrought-iron gate and forecourt, according to the listing with Michael J. Franco of Compass. Guests and residents arrive in a wood-paneled foyer with a midnight-blue tiled barrel-vaulted ceiling. [Source: Mansion Global]
From there, there’s a 32-foot living room with back-lit built-in shelving to store curios, a wet bar and chevron-patterned wood floors, according to the listing. There’s also a dining room, which has floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors leading to the garden. There’s also an updated chef’s kitchen with steel glass-fronted cabinets, stainless steel counters and a commercial-grade range. No surprise, the home has a music studio on the second floor, complete with a music library, a wood-burning fireplace and baby grand piano. A solarium with original stained-glass windows leads to a 30-foot terrace with garden views, an office and a powder room are also on this level.
There are two bedrooms and a kitchen on the third level, while the main bedroom occupies the entire fourth floor. It has a fireplace, dressing room and a bathroom with a soaking tub. The fifth level boasts a studio apartment with a kitchenette, a newly renovated bath with a rain shower and a terrace with garden views. There’s also a finished basement with laundry and storage. Turtle Bay Gardens has been home to a host of bold-faced names over the years, including the famed writer and editor Robert Gottlieb, who died last month at the age of 92.
Sondheim, a life-long New Yorker, worked on some of the most acclaimed productions of the 20th century. He wrote the lyrics for “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” won a Tony for the farcical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and wrote a musical about murderers in “Assassins.” Though not always the most popular, Sondheim was revered throughout the theater world. His final musical, “Here We Are,” is set to be produced by The Shed, with shows beginning in September. Franco declined to comment on the listing.
Curbed first reported the listing.
