The grand Dakota apartment where Lauren Bacall lived for more than a half century, was sold for $21,000,000, and is considered the most expensive closed sale of the week, according to city records. The nine commodious rooms are filled with an eclectic mix of antiques, artwork and countless mementos, many of them from Lauren's fabled Hollywood career.
The apartment with three bedrooms and three and a half baths at No. 43, West 72nd Street on Central Park West, had been listed on the market three after the death of Ms. Bacall in November 2014 at the age of 89. As reported by the New York Times news, the apartment was initially listed for $26 million and reduced to $23.5 million last spring.
The buyers were Ronald N. Beck, managing director of the hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management, and his wife, Cynthia Lewis Beck. The couple worked directly with Rebecca I. Edwardson, the listing agent who represented Ms. Bacall's estate.
The 4,000-square-foot residence exudes classic old world charm. Many of the original 19th-century architectural amenities of the apartment remain including plaster molding, pocket doors in the library, hardwood floors, and wood trim throughout.
Ms. Bacall, whose acting career included honorary Academy Award and two Tonys, moved into the 1884 German Renaissance-style building in 1961 with her second husband, Jason Robards. The couple reported bought the apartment well under $100,000.
Ms. Bacall has entertained a host of famous visitors in the apartment including Anjelica Huston, Barbra Streisand and Ted Kennedy, and mingled with neighbors like Yoko Ono and Connie Chung.
The elegant building where the apartment of Ms. Bacall located has been a home for many famous celebrities, including Leonard Bernstein, Lillian Gish, Judy Garland, Rudolf Nureyev and Joe Namath. Broadway World reported that John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, lived in Dakota building when he was murdered by gunman Mark David Chapman in front of the building.
Ms. Bacall was married to film legend Humphrey Bogart, her first husband who passed away in 1957.
