Montgomery Clift passed away in 1966 at the young age of 45, but the popular star’s legacy still resonates within the Manhattan townhouse he called home for the final six years of his life. As one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and beloved leading men in the 1940s and 1950s, his magnetic charm and emotional range captivated audiences worldwide before Marlon Brando or James Dean ever hit the silver screen. During a brief yet brilliant career, he garnered four Oscar nominations for his roles in The Search, A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity, and Judgment at Nuremberg.
Stylishly preserved and modernized since then, the Upper East Side residence is now on the market in the exclusive, two-block Treadwell Farm Historic District, which has also housed Eleanor Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, and Mia Farrow. Daniela Kunen and Priscilla Tuohy of Douglas Elliman share the $8 million listing.
Completed in 1875 by architects A. & S. Bussell, the property holds a pedigreed past. President Theodore Roosevelt gave the brownstone and brick dwelling to his daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, as a wedding present in 1906. Clift later purchased it from exiled Russian Prince Serge Obolensky, occupying the property from 1960 to 1966 and frequently entertaining his famous friends like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe around a custom teak bar that remains intact. The Landmarks Preservation Commission granted landmark status to the structure and its surrounding neighborhood in 1967.
Standing out in the four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom spread, which clocks in at 18 feet wide and roughly 3,400 square feet across five levels, including the basement, is a parlor floor sporting herringbone-patterned wood floors, 12-foot ceilings, dual fireplaces, a formal dining area in the front, and a sitting room with the aforementioned bar in the back. French doors lead to a tree-lined terrace, while the garden floor below features an eat-in kitchen with terracotta-tiled floors and striking cobalt blue cabinetry, as well as a second dining room and a den that opens to a fenced garden.
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All four bedrooms are distributed equally across the top two floors, each with a fireplace and bathroom. Finishing touches include a skylit stairwell that ascends to a rooftop deck offering open city skyline views, plus laundry facilities on both the basement and fourth levels.
Set in Lenox Hill, on the border of Midtown Manhattan and just minutes from the East River promenade, the home offers easy access to shops and restaurants along Lexington and Third avenues, as well as the sprawling landscapes of Central and Andrew Haswell Green parks.
Click here for more photos of the Manhattan residence.
