Julia Child's Former Cambridge Home Sells for $6.5M

The purple Colonial at 103 Irving St. sold for $50,000 above its asking price after being listed in late September.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Cooking

Flat opaque gouache-painted editorial illustration of a plum-purple Colonial house with cream trim among autumn maple trees on a quiet street. — Julia Child's former Cambridge home at 103 Irving St. sold for $6.525 million, about $50,000 above its late-September asking price. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The former home of celebrity chef Julia Child at 103 Irving St. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sold for $6.525 million. The purple Colonial had been listed in late September for $6.475 million.

Why it matters

The sale marks the transfer of a house tied to one of America's best-known cooking figures, which Child donated to Smith College in 2001. Its sale price shows that historically significant homes in Cambridge continue to command strong demand.

The house sold for $6.525 million, $50,000 above its $6.475 million listing price. The extraction does not identify the buyer or say whether the home will remain a residence.

The players

Julia Child

Julia Child was an American chef and television personality whose cooking programs and cookbooks helped popularize French cuisine in the United States.

Smith College

Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, that received the Cambridge house as a donation from Child in 2001.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History is a museum in Washington, D.C., that holds American cultural and technological artifacts, including Child's TV kitchen.

The details

The six-bedroom, six-bathroom house, built in 1889, was home to Child and her husband from 1961 until 2001. Child's TV kitchen was removed and donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the space was renovated with a six-burner stovetop and marble countertops.

The house was built in 1889.
Julia Child moved into the house in 1961.
Child moved out in 2001 and donated the house to Smith College that year.
The house was first listed for sale in late September 2026 for $6.475 million.
The house sold for $6.525 million on November 5, 2026.

Legacy Context

Child's Cambridge home was the setting for much of her cooking work, including the TV kitchen later donated to the Smithsonian. Its sale connects that broadcast-era legacy to the current market for historic homes near Harvard Yard, a few blocks away.

For Cambridge homebuyers, the sale shows that properties with distinctive histories and sizable footprints can sell above asking in the current market. Readers interested in Child's kitchen can see the TV kitchen's donated collection through the Smithsonian's public museum holdings in Washington, D.C.

The takeaway

Historic homes tied to notable public figures can retain strong market value decades after their owners leave, and their cultural significance often outlasts the owners themselves. Readers following Child's legacy can find her recipes and television work in cookbooks and archival collections.