Grey Gardens Is Under Contract

Update: Grey Gardens has found a buyer, according to the Washington Post. Owner, journalist Sally Quinn, hasn’t disclosed who is purchasing the property or the selling price (it was reduced to $17,995,000 in April), but mentioned that “she’s ‘happy’ with the contract and the new owner ‘really understands the house’ and plans to preserve it.”

Quinn also told the Post that she was planning to have an estate sale, offering up some items from the home, including furniture owned by Big Edie and Little Edie. A date has not been set as of press time.

2/9/17: It’s very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present. Well, actually, it’s not that hard—at least where Grey Gardens is concerned. The iconic East Hampton home is currently for sale, and it’s seen quite a bit of renovating since the infamous 1975 documentary about its former residents—not a cat or raccoon in sight.

Grey Gardens is the former home of Big Edie Beale and daughter Little Edie Beale, aunt and cousin to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The eccentric women and their strange life living in squalor at the rundown property became the subjects of national curiosity after directors Albert and David Maysles spent six weeks filming the candid pair in 1973.

The cult classic documentary has inspired further works: There was a 2006 Broadway musical, performed as recently as last summer in Los Angeles; HBO made a film in 2009 about the making of “Grey Gardens,” and it starred Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as the Beales.

Grey Gardens hasn’t been on the market since 1979; two years after Big Edie passed away, Little Edie sold it to former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. It’s seen significant renovations since then; the 1897 mansion has been restored to its former glory and “lovingly maintained for the past 40 years.” Before Bradlee passed away in 2014, he and his wife, journalist Sally Quinn, began renting out the property.

Located on two acres near Georgica Beach, the spacious main house has 6,000 square feet, seven bedrooms, six and a half baths and “plenty of spaces for year round entertaining,” according to the listing. Great news for plant lovers: the walled gardens are looking spectacular as ever. There’s a stucco cottage, a heated gunite pool, and an “irreplaceable” Har-Tru tennis court.

Grey Gardens is currently listed for $19.995 million.