Of all the raucous parties in the apartment Sarah Dudley Plimpton shared with George Plimpton before his death in 2003, she loves the one on Sept. 10, 2001, the most.

“Paul McCartney came,” Ms. Plimpton said, “and sang, ‘I Will’ to me, my favorite Beatles song.” She also got into an argument with Bill Murray about a comedian he didn’t think was funny.

That party, on the eve of a day that would end parties for a long time, was given for Billy Collins, the popular poet. He was one of countless writers celebrated in the storied East 72nd Street home that had also once housed the cramped offices of The Paris Review, founded in 1953 by Mr. Plimpton, Peter Matthiessen, William Styron and others. The offices of the magazine moved downtown years ago, but embedded memories from the old glory days live on.