- Year built
- 1924
- Financing
- 50% maximum
1120 Fifth Avenue is the original of J.E.R. Carpenter's celebrated Carnegie Hill twin — built one year before its companion at 1115 Fifth across East 93rd Street — and one of the most architecturally distinguished pre-war Carnegie Hill cooperatives. The 2025 sale of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's Penthouse B duplex for approximately $14 million — 40% above the $9.95 million asking price after a bidding war with 11 offers — reset the Carnegie Hill Fifth Avenue penthouse market and is the single most-discussed Manhattan residential closing of the year.
The structural identity rests on three features. First, the Carpenter architectural pedigree — fifteen stories, limestone-clad, Italian Renaissance palazzo. Carter Horsley calls Carpenter "the leading designer of luxury apartment buildings" of his generation. Second, the Campagna developer credential — Anthony Campagna's broader philanthropic legacy includes funding the restoration of Virgil's Tomb at Naples, the Herculaneum excavation, and the Casa Italiana at Columbia University. Third, the Paul Newman cultural overlay — the Newman / Woodward duplex penthouse hosted Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Tom Cruise, Cher, and Harry Belafonte across the family's four-decade tenure.
Architecture and unit composition
Built in 1924 (completed 1925) to J.E.R. Carpenter's design for Anthony Campagna's 93rd St. & 5th Avenue Corp., 1120 Fifth is fifteen stories, limestone-clad, in the Italian Renaissance palazzo idiom that defines Carpenter at peak. The principal external distinction from its twin at 1115 Fifth — completed one year later by Carpenter for Campagna on the south side of East 93rd Street — is that 1120 Fifth carries regular rectangular first-floor windows where 1115 Fifth carries arched first-floor windows.
Carter Horsley calls 1120 Fifth "an attractive 15-story apartment house" by "the leading designer of luxury apartment buildings." The block faces the former Felix Warburg mansion (1908, C.P.H. Gilbert, now The Jewish Museum) directly across the avenue — meaning 1120 Fifth's higher-floor apartments look across to one of the great surviving Gilded Age Fifth Avenue mansions, with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir beyond. Attractive sidewalk landscaping and a large lobby that runs parallel to the avenue complete the exterior identity.
The forty-four apartments distribute across the building's fifteen stories. Apartment configurations carry the late-1920s Park Avenue / Carnegie Hill layout discipline characteristic of Carpenter's planning approach: substantial ceiling heights, formal entry arrangements, generous proportions.
Building operations
1120 Fifth operates as a full-service Carnegie Hill cooperative:
- 24-hour doorman
- Live-in resident manager
- Fitness center
- Bicycle room
- Private storage
The duplex penthouse with private terrace overlooking Central Park is the building's most-cited structural feature — the Newman / Woodward duplex penthouse that hosted Obama, Clinton, Cruise, Cher, and Belafonte across the family's 40-year tenure.
Recent sales
| Date | Unit | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Penthouse B | ~$14M | Newman / Woodward duplex; sold ~40% above $9.95M asking; bidding war with 50+ showings and 11 offers; sale handled by daughter Clea Newman Soderlund |
| 2025 | Maisonette guest suite | $1.7M | Newman family guest suite listed separately |
| 2024 | 9C | $5.75M asking | Brown Harris Stevens |
| 2024 | Maisonette | $1.695M asking | Brown Harris Stevens |
| 2025 | PH-A | $9.95M | Active |
| 2025 | PHC | $9.95M asking | Active |
The 2025 Newman duplex closing is the most-discussed Manhattan residential sale of the year. The bidding war — 50+ showings, 11 offers, 40% above asking — establishes the upper boundary of Carnegie Hill Fifth Avenue penthouse pricing.
What to know if you’re buying
The pied-à-terre restriction is structural. Board approval is highly unlikely for pied-à-terre use; the 2025 Newman sale process made this operational reality explicit. Plan primary-residence positioning at the application stage.
The Carpenter / Campagna architect-developer pedigree is real institutional context. The Carnegie Hill twin pair with 1115 Fifth across East 93rd Street places 1120 Fifth in the most consequential pre-war Carnegie Hill Fifth Avenue cohort.
The duplex penthouse with private terrace is the building's most-cited structural feature. The Newman / Woodward duplex that hosted Obama, Clinton, Cruise, Cher, and Belafonte is the cultural anchor.
The 2025 PH-B closing at approximately $14 million is the most recent pricing benchmark. The 40%-above-asking premium and the 50+ showing / 11 offer bidding war benchmark current high-end Carnegie Hill penthouse demand.
The 50% financing maximum is moderate-restrictive. Plan for substantial down payment; verify post-closing liquidity expectations at application.
The Felix Warburg mansion / Jewish Museum / Reservoir view corridor is structurally valuable. Upper-floor apartments looking west carry one of the most-discussed exposure profiles on Carnegie Hill Fifth Avenue.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard. Plan for 6 to 10 weeks from contract through board approval to closing.
What to know if you’re selling
The Newman / Woodward cultural overlay is the building's single largest marketing asset. Position accordingly.
The Carpenter architectural pedigree and the Carnegie Hill twin pair identity with 1115 Fifth support premium positioning. Both are real institutional credentials.
The 2025 PH-B precedent (~$14M, 40% above asking) reset Carnegie Hill Fifth Avenue penthouse market expectations. Reference in positioning materials.
The duplex penthouse / private terrace configuration is the building's most-cited structural feature. Highlight in upper-floor inventory positioning.
Closing timelines are cooperative-standard.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 1120 Fifth Avenue, also evaluate:
- 1115 Fifth Avenue — J.E.R. Carpenter 1925-26; the twin pair sister across East 93rd Street
- 1107 Fifth Avenue — Rouse & Goldstone / Marjorie Merriweather Post triplex penthouse; Carnegie Hill peer
- 1125 Fifth Avenue — Emery Roth 1925; one-apartment-per-floor Carnegie Hill peer
- 1136 Fifth Avenue — Carnegie Hill peer
- 1148 Fifth Avenue — Carnegie Hill peer
The Roebling Team at 1120 Fifth Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper East Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Carnegie Hill Fifth Avenue cooperative buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architectural attribution, board posture, transactional mechanics, and the apartment-line-specific pricing — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 1120 Fifth, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Corey Cohen · The Roebling Team at Compass 646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com
Sources: CityRealty (Carter Horsley review); The City Review (Carpenter twin pair coverage); Corcoran building page; Landmark Branding building profile; 6sqft "Paul Newman's Fifth Avenue Co-op" (multiple, 2025); Modern HB "Manhattan Penthouse Sparks Bidding War" (2025); CityRealty market-insight feature on 2025 closings including Newman; Hamptons Real Estate Showcase coverage of Newman closing; Brown Harris Stevens; NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers.