The New York City apartment where baseball legend George Herman "Babe" Ruth lived while playing as an outfielder for the Yankees has hit the market with an asking price of $1.5 million.
The current owners of Unit 7B inside 345 W. 88th St. is a single family that has outgrown the space, according to Dylan Hoffman of Compass, the home's listing agent. The family knows the historical sports significance of their current home, but they still need a new and larger living arrangement, Hoffman said.
The home features three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and oak floors. The unit sits inside a nine-story, 52-unit Renaissance Revival courtyard building that opened in 1914.
Hoffman said the view from the bedroom windows shows a row of brownstones along 88th Street. The current residents have the place laid out as two bedrooms, but the new owners can easily reconfigure the space for three, he added.
Ruth began his Major League Baseball career in 1914, first as a pitcher and shortstop with the Boston Red Sox. He played there for four seasons and then was sent to the New York Yankees in a legendary trade in 1919 that Sox fans say ushered in the "Curse of the Bambino," a World Series drought that lasted 86 years. His stardom rose nationally as he became known for his proficiency in hitting home runs.
The slugger also known as the "Sultan of Swat" finished his career in 1935 with 714 home runs, a league record that stood until 1974. He won three World Series with the Red Sox and four with the Yankees, and was among the first five electees inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. He died in New York in 1948.
Ruth and his family lived on the entire seventh floor of 345 W. 88th between 1929 and 1940. During those years, the building was an apartment complex. It has since been converted into a co-op.
The home is nestled in Manhattan's Upper West Side neighborhood, where condos and co-ops are priced from $700,000 to $3.5 million, but properties with a view of Central Park or the Hudson River typically cost more, according to Homes.com data. Studio condos are about $400,000, and one-bedroom co-ops inside brownstones have listed for just under $500,000.
Potential buyers who have seen the unit recently have been wowed by how large the primary bedroom is, Hoffman said. The owners "did a nice job renovating the kitchen," and any smaller-sized family who moves in would enjoy "the opportunity to grow into it," he said.