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15 Obnoxious Homes That Were Built Just To Annoy The Neighbors
One of the oldest known spite houses was built in Marblehead, Mass. No one knows for sure why it was built, but theory holds that two brothers who hated each other occupied opposite sides of the home. It still stands today.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The Richardson Spite House was built on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 1882. The owner reportedly built the five-foot-wide building after the owner of an adjacent plot tried to buy the land, and the deal fell through. The narrow building was home to 8 apartment suites, and was demolished in 1915.
The McCobb Spite House was built in Phippsburg, Maine in 1806. McCobb thought his mother was trying to deprive him of his inheritance, and planned a home to overshadow hers. The house was later relocated to Rockport and still stands.
The Tyler Spite House was built in Frederick, Maryland, in 1814. When the doctor who owned the parcel discovered the city's plan to cut a road across his land, he immediately poured a foundation for a home, effectively stopping work on the road. It still stands and was recently used as a bed & breakfast.
The Skinny House in Boston's North End is the city's narrowest home. Though its origins are unknown, one theory holds that it was built by a man who returned from the military and found his brother had built a large house on land they both inherited. He built the narrow home out of spite, blocking sunlight and the view from the larger home.
In the 19th century, a developer in Freeport, NY put up a Victorian home on a triangular plot of land in opposition to designers who were laying out a grid for the city. It still stands today.
Francis O'Reilly built his spite house in West Cambridge, Mass. in 1908 after his neighbor refused to buy the parcel. The 308-square-foot building is just 8 feet wide, and still stands.
The Montlake Spite House was built in Seattle, Wash. in 1925. It supposedly came about after a neighbor made a lowball offer for the slice of land the home now occupies. It's 860 square feet, and recently sold after being listed for $397,500.
Charles Froling built his spite house in the late 1900s in Alameda, Calif. after the city took a large portion of his land to build a street. The home was designed to irk the city, as well as a neighbor who had been sympathetic to the construction of the road. The 10-foot-wide home still stands.
According to legend, a man named Newton Rummonds acquired a tiny plot in Long Beach, Calif. to settle a $100 debt. After neighbors bet that the plot was too small to be functional, he built the 10-foot-wide home to prove them wrong.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
According to local lore, the spite tower in Adamsville was built to block the line of sight of a town local. It was constructed around 1905, and still stands.
The 7-foot-wide spite house in Alexandria, Va. was built in 1830 as a way for the owner of one of the adjacent houses "to keep horse-drawn wagons and loiterers out of his alley," according to The New York Times. The house is an "enclosed alley," formed from the brick walls of the homes on either side.
Source: Google Maps
This spite house in Virginia City, Nev. came about after two neighbors got into a fight. After one man built a home, the other bought the lot next to his and built a home less than 12 inches away. The home sold in 2014 for $245,000.
Source: Google Maps
Not all spite houses have to do with neighborly feuds. In 2013, the non-profit Planting Peace bought a home across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church, considered to be a gay hate group, and painted it like a rainbow. It now serves as a resource center for anti-bullying initiatives.
Source: Google Maps
China has become known for its "nail houses" — the homes left behind when owners refuse to move due to developers. In one famous case in 2007, a family in Chongqing refused to vacate a home to make way for the construction of a shopping mall. The owners eventually settled with the developers.
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