Imperial House
150 East 69th Street
New York, New York
(Apartment "22H" 1973-1977)

Joan's Residency
     In August 1973, Joan bought apartment 22H in Imperial House for a reduced price of approximately $85,000, following Imperial House becoming a co-op apartment building in 1971. As with apartment 22G, Joan hired interior designer Carleton Varney to decorate the apartment, which included darkening many of the beige furniture pieces to an ebony finish. Again, Joan removed the bathtubs in favor of shower stalls, and installed white plastic laminate over the interior window ledges. (Source: Carleton Varney)
     For several months, Joan prepared for the move, which began on the week of Monday November 5th, 1973. Apartment 22H was smaller than Joan's previous apartment 22G, and consisted of a reception room/salon, a living room, a dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, five walk-in closets and two small hall closets. This apartment would be Joan's final home. She passed away in this apartment on the morning of May 10th 1977.

Apartment 22H Room Measurements:

Reception Room: 17ft X 14ft
Living Room: 29'6 X 15ft
Dining Room: 18ft X 12ft
Kitchen: 15'6 X 8ft
Joan's Bedroom: 20ft X 15ft
Second Bedroom: 19ft X 17ft

Property History (The Imperial House Building)

     Construction on the Imperial House apartment building was completed in 1961. Click here for a history of the building, along with sales material and vintage and contemporary photos of the lobby.

Interior photos of apartment 22H, including a photo of the desk chairs owned by Joan which sat at her desk

These photos were taken by Richard Champion for Architectural Digest in late 1975

A blueprint of apartment 22H and of floor 22 as it appeared during Joan's residency

Modern views of the apartment, taken by this Webmaster in April 2017