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So guess what? I stopped by the library this morning. Rents in GV in Aug 1958, according to Village Voice, ranged from ~$100 for studios to--the most expensive listing--$350 for a "beautiful 2BR penthouse apartment" with a terrace on lower Fifth Avenue (the Brevoort?) for $350. If Buddy & Maria paid $1K for a 1BR on a low floor they got royally ripped off. I'm declaring this myth DEBUNKED.
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I understand Buddy and MEH weren't going to live in a third floor cold water walkup. Many of the cheaper Village apartments listed in the old Voice newspaper were more "bohemian" for the starving artist types. Surely Buddy's new bride would have expected luxury housing for her celebrity husband: a doorman, a balcony with a view, etc. But as the blogger above noted, even the luxury apartments were way less than what biographers have claimed.