Julia Child's former home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has sold for $6.52 million, exceeding its asking price of $6.475 million. The property, where the renowned chef lived for decades with her husband, Paul, was on the market for just a few weeks before the sale was finalized.
The six-bedroom Colonial-style house, located at 103 Irving St., was built in 1889 and spans approximately 6,321 square feet. Child, who popularized French cuisine in America through her television programs and cookbooks, lived in the home from the early 1960s until 2001. Her groundbreaking PBS show, "The French Chef," was filmed during her time there.
While the house has undergone renovations and no longer features Child's original kitchen—which is now on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History—it retains its historic exterior. The property includes a quarter-acre lot, hardwood floors, and French doors.
Child donated the home to her alma mater, Smith College, in 2001. The college subsequently sold it, and the most recent sellers, Harvard Law School professor Michael Klarman and his wife, Lisa Landsverk, purchased it for $3.7 million in 2009. Klarman noted that interest in the house surged following the 2009 film "Julie & Julia," with some admirers leaving sticks of butter on the property's fence as a tribute to the chef.
The Cambridge City Council had previously voted in favor of installing a commemorative plaque honoring Child at the residence, though final details are pending approval from the new owner.