The first residence they bought in New York John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in 1971 it just went on sale by 5.5. million dollars plus a debt of 55,000 dollars in taxes, in total 5.1 million euros. The famous couple lived at 496 Broome Street for two years before moving to the legendary Dakota apartment building, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, across from Central Park. where Lennon was shot dead arriving to his house in the early morning of December 8, 1980 by the fanatic Mark David Chapman.
The former Beatle and his wife Yoko (91 years old) bought the home in the heart of Soho shortly after the band broke up, and just when the artist had just released his second solo album, “Imagine.” According to the writer Philip Norman in the biography he wrote, “John Lennon: The Life”, the artist bought this home with his then partner because “He thought New York was a place where he could be left alone.». In the Big Apple he found what he was looking for, “it really seemed like freedom, Beatles freedom. “It was a very miserable life to be a Beatle.” Initially living in New York, the couple rented several spaces before buying the house that is now for sale.
In Soho they found the tranquility they were looking for and surrounded themselves with artists at a time when the neighborhood of lower Manhattan was in full swing, becoming one of the most famous districts in the city, the cradle of artists and creatives. In fact, The sale of the apartment has sparked a lot of interest among art galleries that are already bidding to acquire the home.
Home and studio
It is the first time in 53 years that the apartment has gone on sale. A space of more than 364,000 square meters with two floors with high ceilings which served as a home and recording studio, as well as a meeting point for creatives for the last half century.
On the ground floor there is a large open kitchen and a bar with high chairs. Climbing the stairs of the loft you reach a large bedroom with an external bathtub at the back of the room and a large mirror.
With parquet flooring and walls that retain the red brick of the initial construction, the home is a gem that “has been used intermittently over the years as a meeting and work space for various Sekhmet Productions projects.” Ono Yoko and Sean’s production company, the son he had with the Beatles member who is also a musician. “Interviews have been held here, art has been stored, etc.,” explains Philip Norman, the director of JLL Capital Markets, the company managing the sale of the property. In addition, the house has more open space where up to three additional floors could be built.
Most of the buildings in this area were built before 1910, except for the one the couple owned, which was erected in 1920 and was purchased from the Chinese artist. David Diao. Its art deco façade makes it easy to identify the home in a historic area known as Soho Cast Iron Historic Districtin reference to its cast iron facades, known from films such as Ghost.
A year ago, Ono began to get rid of the homes he has in Manhattan and in March 2023 he left the Dakota building on West 72 Street, where she still maintains one of the 5 apartments the couple bought years ago, to move to a 243-acre rural farm that she and her late husband bought in 1978 in Catskill. They acquired it for about $178,000, a haven of peace in upstate New York, far from the chaotic life of the concrete jungle.
Over there, John Lennon’s widow is dedicated to raising the cows and bulls that Lennon bought when they acquired the farm, near a town called Franklin with less than 350 inhabitants. There the great love of the famous Beatle has once again found the tranquility that he always sought.
