A Top NYC Broker Just Scooped Up Icon Lena Horne’s Longtime Upper East Side “Dream Space”

Power broker Emily Beare knows prime real estate when she sees it. Beare, a top broker at CORE who boasts over $4 billion in sales, picked up the late and iconic Lena Horne’s Upper East Side apartment in February for its full ask: $2.195 million.

The legendary Broadway star, singer, dancer, and civil rights activist resided at this Manhattan address from the 1980s until her death at age 92 in 2010. Horne’s daughter, author and journalist Gail Lumet Buckley, then held the elegant home and put it on the market last October.

The illustrious apartment is less than one block from Central Park on East 74th Street in a circa-1929 building known as the Volney. Horne, whose life included such major moments as taking part in the 1963 March on Washington and winning Grammy and Tony awards, called the residence her “dream space.”

The 2,100-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom oasis was originally two separate units that Horne combined into one. Today, it features an oversized chef’s kitchen with a breakfast nook, large windows with plenty of natural light, and plenty of character from details like beamed ceilings, an emerald green bar, and rich hardwood floors.

Last year, Lena Horne made history again, becoming the first black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her. While it is unknown if Beare—who previously rented in Manhattan—will be permanently moving into Horne’s former residence, it is certain that the home has switched hands from one powerful woman to another.

Jonathan D. Schulz and Jason T. Miller of The Corcoran Group held the listing.