The Connecticut mansion shared by the late Mary Tyler Moore and her husband has been put on the market for $21.9 million.
Moore and her now widower, Dr. Robert Levine, 68, bought the seven-acre Greenwich property in 2006 for about $10 million. Levine now says his decision to sell their home was “extremely difficult,” but a necessary step for him to move on after his wife’s death.
‘It’s Mary’s house. When I’m in my ‘what now?’ go out, I’ve decided I have to leave the house,” Levine told the Wall Street Journal.
Moore, a pioneer for women in the entertainment industry and perhaps best known for her role on the eponymous “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” died in 2017 at the age of 80.
The beautiful 13,000 square foot home is believed to have been built in the late 19th century. It has all the expected luxury amenities, including a spa, billiards room and even a solarium.
The 14,000-square-foot mansion is located in Greenwich, Connecticut, close enough to Manhattan to keep Moore from getting bored, but also private and serene.
One of the most interesting features of the house is the large solarium, where Moore spent many hours in the last years of her life
The billiards room is intended as a tribute to a room in Moore’s grandfather’s house in the Shenandoah Valley
“We couldn’t completely walk away from Manhattan. (Mary) needed her fix for window shopping,” Levine said of the Greenwich home, which the couple loved for its privacy and proximity to bustling city life.
The couple renovated most of the house, but kept much of the original stone and sourced matching fieldstone from local quarries for the addition.
By the end of construction, the house had expanded from 7,500 square feet to approximately 14,000 square feet. According to the Journal report, some elements of the architecture are modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.
A skylight built above the main staircase in the foyer allows light to flood in and bounce off a wall of windows that overlooks the garden.
The mansion also features a gym with a ballet barre and floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The spa features a massage room, jacuzzi and sauna. Of course there is also a large outdoor swimming pool.
The house features five large bedrooms, although the couple had no children together. The primary suite has dual dressing rooms and is located in its own wing of the house.
The billiards room was designed to resemble the room Moore’s grandfather had in his home in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley when she was growing up. On the shelves are some books from the actress’s childhood.
Levine said one of the home’s main purposes was to display his late wife’s vast collection of art, Americana and antiques.
One of the most special rooms in the house is the solarium, where Moore spent many hours in the last years of her life, according to her husband.
“It was Mary’s rest room, and where she spent much of her life when she could no longer get around as easily on her own,” he said.
Some of the room’s windows are stained glass artworks preserved from ancient churches and synagogues. At the end of her life, Moore, who suffered from diabetes and related vision problems, enjoyed sitting in the bright room.
Moore and her husband Dr. Robert Levine purchased the property in 2006 before renovating it for nearly three years
To bring even more light into the home, a skylight has been designed in the main entrance
The master suite in the house is its own wing and has double dressing rooms
A large outdoor pool is located in the backyard with plenty of room for sun loungers and al fresco dining
A full gym comes complete with a ballet bar and floor to ceiling mirrors
The beautiful estate is now for sale for $22 million
Levine said a portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to support the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, a foundation dedicated to restoring vision to people with diabetes.
The real estate agent for the home is Joseph Barbieri of Sotheby’s International Realty.
He said he continues to see demand for trophy homes in Greenwich, noting that buyers in the area face low inventory of the types of properties they are willing to pay tens of millions for.