Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s New York penthouse is listed for $9.95 million

NEW YORK — The longtime Manhattan home of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, a sprawling penthouse at the exclusive 1120 Fifth Ave. co-op that they had used as a pied-à-terre and to entertain fellow movie stars and other prominent guests, is on the market for the first time in four decades.

The asking price is $9.95 million, with $13,078 in monthly maintenance, according to Noble Black of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, who is listing the property with his colleague Jennifer Stillman.

The sale of the apartment is being handled by the couple’s children on behalf of Woodward, 94, who has withdrawn from public life since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. Newman died of cancer in 2008 at 83.

Woodward remains at her longtime primary residence, in Westport, Connecticut, where she and Newman raised their daughters, Nell, Melissa and Clea. They bought the co-op, which has sweeping views of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, in the early 1980s.

“It was really kind of their romantic spot,” said their youngest daughter, Clea Newman Soderlund, an ambassador to the SeriousFun Children’s Network, a camp program for seriously ill children founded by Newman. “They would spend weeks at a clip there. They would go to the theater or the opera or out to dinner with friends.”

The apartment encompasses half the top floor of a 15-story limestone co-op building, designed by James E.R. Carpenter, erected in 1925 at the corner of 5th Avenue and E. 93rd Street in Carnegie Hill. It has just under 3,000 square feet of interior space, with two bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms, and two spacious terraces totaling about 2,300 square feet.

“My mother wanted a terrace for the dogs, so they could go outside — that was the prime objective,” Newman Soderlund said. “They ended up getting this extraordinary property that overlooks the park and reservoir, and they got the sunrise and sunset.”

The terraces also provided scenic backdrops for the couple’s numerous cocktail and dinner parties, where they regaled a long list of guests that included presidents and performers, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Tom Cruise, Cher, Harry Belafonte and more.

“It’s so set up for entertaining,” Newman Soderlund said.

After buying the apartment, Woodward and Newman made a few changes and updates, Black said, such as enlarging the primary bedroom by combining two smaller bedrooms. But little has been done to the unit in recent years. “The kitchen is still very much how they had it,” he said. “There’s also original wallpaper and tile — early ‘80s vintage. It retains their personality.”

But, he noted, “There’s plenty of space to play around with.”

And the apartment still has many of its original prewar flourishes, such as the nearly 11-foot ceilings, herringbone wood floors, wood-burning fireplace and decorative wood moldings and built-ins.

“The bones are what’s really spectacular in terms of the scale of the rooms, ceiling heights, windows and the view of Central Park,” Black said, adding that “the pedigree” of two Hollywood legends having lived in the apartment “takes it to another level.”

Much of the apartment’s previous contents, though, have been removed, with some having been sold at auction. A scattering of Woodward and Newman’s old photographs, books and personal belongings remains.

They had amassed extensive collections of artwork, furnishings and watches, along with film and auto-racing memorabilia. (Newman, a noted philanthropist and entrepreneur, was also an accomplished race car driver. )

The pair were among the most renowned actors of the 20th century, appearing onstage and in film and receiving many accolades along the way. Newman won an Academy Award for best actor for his role in “The Color of Money” (1986), and Woodward took best actress for “The Three Faces of Eve” (1957).

The apartment is entered through a spacious foyer that opens to a library/bedroom with built-in shelves and an adjacent bathroom; a formal dining room, also with built-in shelves and window seats; and an enormous living room, which is anchored by a fireplace with a carved wood mantel and features a separate dry bar. Newman kept his baby grand piano in the living room.

“Their favorite room was probably the living room,” Newman Soderlund said. “They spent a lot of time there listening to music and enjoying the view.”

The dining room leads to the kitchen area, which contains a butler’s pantry, breakfast nook, laundry/staff room and a powder room. The windowed kitchen is outfitted with butcher block countertops and original metal cabinets. Nearby is a service elevator.

Both the kitchen and living room lead out to the Central Park-facing west terrace.

At the east end is the primary bedroom suite, with two large walk-in closets and an en suite bathroom with hand-painted tiles and a soaking tub. The bedroom leads to a wraparound terrace with cityscape views.

Newman Soderlund said she and her sisters have many fond memories of the penthouse, where they would watch fireworks on New Year’s Eve and gather for family dinners. Sometimes they stayed in the two-bedroom, ground-floor apartment in the building that their parents also owned. (It was used as an office, gym and guest space, Newman Soderlund said. The unit is still owned by Woodward, and is available for purchase separately.)

“We loved coming here,” she said. “My parents told us ‘You’re welcome to come and visit anytime,’ but it wasn’t really set up for staying there any length of time. It was their oasis in New York.”