Longtime New York Home of Barbara Walters Hits the Market for $19.75 Million

Barbara Walters at Ralph Lauren's 40th Anniversary celebration in the Conservatory Garden, Central Park. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The ornate Upper East Side home that belonged to Barbara Walters has hit the market following the TV icon’s passing late last year. The beloved interviewer, who had a pioneering seven-decade career in broadcast journalism, resided in the lavish full-floor co-op from 1989 until her death at age 93. The five-bedroom unit has now been listed by her estate for $19.75 million with Alexa Lambert of Compass. The listing comes as the city’s high-end real estate market continues to recover, with sales up by 11 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Perched in a 1925 limestone building on tony Fifth Avenue, the 11-room residence overlooks Central Park and features a number of elements associated with the vaunted Upper East Side lifestyle, among them a grand entry gallery, formal dining room, wood-burning fireplace, and staff quarters. Sheathed in luxurious fabrics and wall coverings, the unit also comes with numerous wall-sized mirrors and metallic-leaf ceilings. The primary bedroom includes multiple built-in dressers embellished with floral motifs and is situated next to a glossy-red library, which features cheetah-print carpeting.

Walters, who began her career in the early 1950s, broke barriers as the first female network news anchor co-anchor of ABC Evening News, becoming the highest-paid news personality at the time. She also interviewed every U.S. president and First Lady from Richard and Pat Nixon to Barack and Michelle Obama. During her final job, as cohost on The View, Walters would regularly regale the audience with stories of her myriad famous kith and kin—many of whom she entertained in this very apartment. If only the walls could talk.

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