Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is no stranger to luxury—but even she couldn’t help but be bowled over by the level of extravagance on display inside late fitness guru Lucille Roberts‘ $50 million New York City mansion.
Stewart, 84, was given a special tour of the property, which is the largest private residence in Manhattan, while getting a first look at the array of incredible items that are now being auctioned off by Roberts’ family, who have finally managed to sell the exercise icon’s home after a 13-year battle to find a buyer.
The extraordinary townhouse, which served as Roberts’ primary residence until her death in 2003, was first put on the market for the sky-high price of $90 million in 2012, when it earned the short-lived title of New York City’s most expensive townhome.
However, in the years since, it has undergone several very significant price cuts, with the latest list price placed at $49.9 million, although it is unclear whether the buyer actually offered that full sum.
According to property records that anonymous buyer went into contract on the 20,000-square-foot townhouse on Oct. 27—and Roberts’ family is now making preparations to clear out the dwelling and ready it for its new steward, starting with an auction of the fitness legend’s many personal possessions.
In a post shared on her Instagram, Stewart did her part to try and promote that sale, urging her followers to bid on the many unique lots, which have starting bids of up to $10,000 each.
“I took a little detour this morning on the way to work stopping at [4] East 80th Street at an amazing 27,000-square-foot mansion,” Stewart wrote, while sharing several photos from inside the townhome.
“My friend is the man chosen by the former owners to dispose of many of the contents of the house prior to the new owners taking ownership. Look online tomorrow to find out how to see the contents and how to bid on them.”
The second flick in Stewart’s carousel saw the man in charge of the auction, Frank Kaminski, standing in front of the sprawling building.
Stewart also gave her millions of followers a glimpse at some of the luxe items that would be on display at the auction, including a chic painting and a gold, small sculpture.
Although the auction doesn’t begin until Nov. 15, some of the items are being previewed on the site.
Those who wish to get a look inside the historic property, which is known as the Woolworth Mansion, can pay a visit to the property between Nov. 12 and Nov. 15, when Kaminski Auctions will host an in-house preview of the lots on offer.
Those items include a wooden coffee table that begins at $1,500, a $10,000 tapestry, hundreds of dollars worth of plates and more.
The property, which is situated on the Upper East Side, is 35 feet wide and features nine bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, three kitchens, a gym, library, sauna, and glass-enclosed solarium.
An extraordinary formal dining room can seat 50 people, while the home’s many decadent living spaces seem to have been tailor-made for entertaining.
The lavish dwelling was snapped up by Lucille and her husband, Bob Roberts, in 1995 for $6 million.
They purchased the property from the Young Men’s Philanthropic League.
The couple restored the home for several years before Lucille died from lung cancer in 2003.
“She didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of her labor for that many years,” the couple’s son, Kevin, told the Wall Street Journal in 2024.
Roberts did, however, get the opportunity to host many a decadent party inside the property, with Kevin revealing: “That’s what my mother did in the last years of her life.”
At one point, he said up to 1,000 people were attending the family’s iconic Christmas gathering, which took place throughout all of the home’s main living spaces.
The one thing that Roberts did not do inside her home, however, was workout in the gym, which was actually not put in place until after she died, with her son revealing that she believed a workout space would have “ruined the aesthetic” of the historic property.
“After she passed, we built a gym in her office. I feel terrible saying it,” he admitted.
Kevin explained that he moved back into his parents’ property after his mother’s diagnosis—and then continued living in the home with his family until 2016.
The mansion remained in the family for several decades after her passing. In 2021, it hit the rental market for $80,000 a month. It was also listed for lease one summer for $125,000.
In October, it was reported that the home finally found a new buyer; however, the sale price and the identity of the new owner have yet to be released.
Before being snapped up, the dwelling, which was designed in 1915, was on the market for $49.95 million.