The Connecticut estate where Katharine Hepburn and her family summered for nearly a century has reappeared on the market.
The late Academy Award winner’s parents bought the Old Saybrook property around 1913, but it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1938. Hepburn had the brick house rebuilt the following year. While the Hepburn family primarily used the home as a summer vacation retreat, the legendary actress, who was born in Hartford, retired to the home later in life. She lived there until her death, in 2003.
The 8,400-square-foot home at 10 Mohegan Avenue, in the Fenwick area of Old Saybrook, has been on and off the market since at least 2014, and was last listed for $14.8 million in 2015. After a hiatus, the three-story manse is back, with a reduced $11.8 million price tag.
The six-bedroom, 7.5-bath home was entirely renovated in 2005, says the listing held by Colette Harron of Sotheby’s International Realty, and features seven gas fireplaces throughout.
The property consists of 1.5 pristine acres, with 220 feet of Long Island Sound frontage—there’s even a private dock. Indeed, Howard Hughes would land his seaplane directly in front of the brick home in the 1930s and 1940s, per the listing. We’re picturing the whole thing to be similar to Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett in The Aviator.
In terms of interiors, the gourmet kitchen features custom cabinetry, a center island and white marble counters, and there’s a screened-in blue stone porch that the listing declares is “perfect for entertaining and al-fresco dining.”
The home overlooks a private pond, and there’s also a secluded beach where Hepburn was known to take a “daily dip,” no matter the season.
If the Hepburn estate is a bit too pricy, an adjacent parcel is listed as a separate property—the 8,300-square-foot home was built in 2015, and is asking $5.88 million. There is, however, another historic, early 20th century home on the market—Lasata, the Bouvier estate in East Hampton. But at $39 million, it makes the Hepburn home look like a relative steal.