The former Manhattan apartment of the late Sidney Poitier, a Hollywood icon and civil rights pioneer, is now on the market for $11.5 million, according to Mansion Global. Located on Fifth Avenue’s Upper East Side, the duplex offers breathtaking Central Park views from six of its 13 rooms, including all five bedrooms.
Poitier, the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964, and his wife, Joanna Shimkus, purchased the apartment in 1994 for $2.5 million, according to The Los Angeles Times. They sold the property in 2001 for $5 million to art collectors, who are now selling the unit through their estate.
Inside the Upper East Side Haven
The prewar duplex is a combination of two three-bedroom units. The living room, featuring a wood-burning fireplace, provides a panoramic view of Central Park. The primary bedroom, occupying the former living room of the upper unit, boasts its own fireplace.
Other highlights include a renovated kitchen with a pantry, a formal dining room, a wood-paneled library/media room, and staff quarters. A sculptural staircase seamlessly connects the ninth and tenth floors of the 1924 French Renaissance-style building, designed by architects Howard Krane and Kenneth Franzheim.
Amenities in the building include a full-time doorman, a fitness center, private storage, and a laundry room.
Poitier and his wife also owned a home in Beverly Hills, California, which would have been worth $10 million in 2022, according to GoBakingRates.
Poitier passed away in 2022 at the age of 94. At the time of his death Celebrity Networth estimated his net worth was $20 million. His groundbreaking career, spanning films like “Lilies of the Field,” “To Sir, With Love,” “They Call Me Mister Tibbs!” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Paris Blues,” and “A Raisin In the Sun” broke racial barriers and inspired generations. His final film was 2001’s “The Last Brickmaker In America.”
