Twenty-three years after “Sex and the City” debuted, this quintessential townhouse is still Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment. And, we imagine, still overflowing with Manolo Blahniks and bottomless cosmos. And now, the “Sex and the City” gang is reuniting for a 10-episode revival on HBO Max! (Minus Samantha Jones, sniff.) We (ahem) couldn’t help but wonder: How is Carrie Bradshaw’s dreamy New York home, 64 Perry Street, doing? After all, no other address better represents what it means to be fashionable and fabulous in New York City.
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The Iconic Apartment at 64 Perry Street
Among all the legendary addresses in NYC, 64 Perry Street is a mecca for true “Sex and the City” fans. The facade of this brownstone was used for the exterior of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment for the show’s first three seasons. This is where the character kicked off the pure eye candy of her New York life! (She paid a mere $700 a month for the rent-stabilized apartment. That may explain how a freelance writer could afford so many trips to Barneys New York.)
What some may not know is that, while Bradshaw famously lived on the Upper East Side (on East 73rd Street), the address is actually in the West Village. The real-life townhouse last sold in 2013 for a whopping $13,250,000. It didn’t need TV to make it a market winner, because this home is truly unique. Built in 1899, the 5-bedroom, 3-bath brownstone boasts a lush garden, complete with a nearly 300-year-old chestnut tree. And it apparently has as much of a hold on its owners as on fans. Records show that only three families owned the building before the 2013 sale, all the way back to its construction in the 19th century.
Could Carrie Really Afford It?
Speaking of real life, let’s talk numbers. To swing the rent on the Upper East Side apartment she has on the show, Carrie would certainly have to sell a few more books. (And buy way fewer Manolos.) StreetEasy’s Data Dashboard tells us that, as of November 2020, the median asking rent for an Upper East Side 1-bedroom is $2,430 a month. And if Carrie were to actually buy the place, like in the episode “Ring a Ding Ding”? Well, she may need to enlist deep-pocketed Mr. Big as a co-owner. The median asking price to buy an Upper East Side home is $1,595,000.
Things are even more spendy in 64 Perry Street’s real West Village neighborhood. For a similar pad there, the nabe’s median asking rent is $3,100 a month. And to buy, the West Village’s median asking price for a 1-bedroom is $1,649,500.
Fun fact: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristen Davis are each reportedly making $1 million an episode for the reboot. So they would have no trouble ponying up in real life!
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History of 64 Perry Street
Carrie Bradshaw isn’t the only notable person associated with this address. Fashion icon Tim Gunn, who stars on the hit series “Project Runway,” actually lived on the top floor of the building for 16 years. Additionally, Woody Allen — who knows a few things about using NYC locations in his work — filmed scenes for the movie “Alice” here in 1990.
With all that history and character, 64 Perry goes down as a celebrity building in a city that isn’t short on star real estate. Here’s a tour of the building as it actually looks.
After three seasons of filming the exterior of 64 Perry, “Sex and the City” producers moved next door to the facade of 66 Perry Street.
“Sex and the City” Fans Still Flock to Perry Street
Huge numbers of tourists visit here each month to relive moments from the show. A Google search for “Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop” produces thousands upon thousands of images of “Sex and the City” fans sitting on the stairs of 64 Perry Street and 66 Perry Street. (What could be more Instagrammable?)
The deluge of pilgrims to a residential street can cause problems, though. To increase the street’s privacy, a group of neighborhood residents asked tour companies not to stop their large tour buses at the home anymore. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t still visit memorable locations from the show. One Sex and the City tour currently on offer includes stops at such places as the bar owned by Steve and Aidan. And, yes, even that infamous stoop. If you squint, you can almost see Carrie there.
[This post has been updated and republished.]
