Spite house

The Richardson Spite House in 1895

A spite house is a building constructed or modified to irritate neighbors or any party with land stakes. Spite houses often create obstructions, blocking out light or access to neighboring buildings, or as flagrant symbols of defiance.[1][2] Because long-term occupation is at best a secondary consideration, spite houses frequently sport strange and impractical structures.

Spite houses are much rarer than spite fences.[1] This is partially attributable to the fact that modern building codes often prevent the construction of houses likely to impinge on neighbors' views or privacy, but mostly because fence construction is far cheaper than home construction.[3]

Examples

The Old Spite House of Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1912

Other uses

The term "spite house" also relates to an old Southern United States custom of consigning an ostracized family member to a very small second house on the family land "where he was expected to live in solitude as punishment for having embarrassed his family".[38]

The term was publicised on the BBC television series QI as one of their gag topics in the ninth episode of Series H in the extended version of the show (QI XL).

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kelly, John, March 26, 2006, The Washington Post: "Answer Man: In Search Of Houses That Spite Built." Page C02.
  2. United States National Park Service, 1960, Historical American Building Survey: Spite (McCobb-Dodge) House - Page 2. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
  3. "Cold Spots: Tyler's Spite House - Dread Central". Dread Central.
  4. Boston Globe, October 14, 1984, "The challenge of renovating Marblehead's Spite House, where children and pets live harmoniously with antiques." Section: Special. The Old Spite House is located at Orne St & Gas House Ln, Marblehead, MA 01945.
  5. 1 2 Miller, Margo, October 17, 1986, Boston Globe: "Living by the sea - Boston's waterfront homes on tour." Section: At home; Page 29.
  6. 1 2 Brand, Andrea, 2007, camaronal-cr.com. Phippsburg.info - History. Retrieved March 19, 2008. Present Location: McCobb Spite House, Deadman's Point, Rockport, Maine 04488.
  7. "Maine Memory Network - Spite House on Its Way to Rockport, 1925". Maine Memory Network.
  8. Library of Congress. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey. "Spite" House, Deadman's Point (moved from Phippsburg, ME), Rockport vicinity, Knox County, ME.
  9. phippsburg.com attractions.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Williams, N, April 29, 1990, Los Angeles Times: "This Maryland House was built just for spite." Section: travel; Page 14. Location: Tyler Spite House, 112 W Church St, Frederick, MD 21701.
  11. "A matter of Spite". The Frederick News-Post.
  12. 1 2 3 Bailey, Steve, February 29, 2008, The New York Times: "A Tiny, Beloved Home That Was Built for Spite." Section: F; Page F6. Location: 523 Queen St, Alexandria, VA 22314.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cronin, Jim, February 13, 2005, Boston Globe: "Living sideways down a skinny alley through a side front door." Section: City Weekly; Page 1. Location: 44 Hull St, Boston, MA 02113.
  14. 1 2 Boston Globe, November 21, 1997, "Ask the Globe." Section: National/Foreign; Page C22.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Ames, James Barr; Smith Jeremiah. (1893) A Selection of Cases on the Law of Torts. Page 730.
  16. "Sues for Dower Rights; Louise Ann Burl's Claims as Capt. Richardson's Widow". The New York Times. 28 March 1895. p. 3.
  17. "Spite House". New York City Architecture. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  18. 1 2 The New York Times, April 4, 1898, "Topics of the times." Page 6. (Abstract).
  19. 1 2 3 4 Hirsh, Linda B, April 17, 1994, Hartford Courant: "Walking Tour Puts the Traveler in 19th-Century Collinsville." Section: Town News Extra; Page H1.
  20. Hirsh, Linda B, April 17, 1994, Hartford Courant: "The Canton Time Machine; But There Are Some Places That Can Only Be Remembered." Section: Town News Extra; page H1.
  21. 1 2 Mason-Draffen, Carrie, March 30, 1997, Newsday: "Living In - Diversity Freely Spices Freeport". Section: Life; Page E25. The Freeport Spite House is located at the intersection of: Wilson Place, Long Beach Avenue, and Lena Avenue in Freeport, New York.
  22. Also see, Long Island Memories Collection : Item Viewer. Retrieved March 25, 2008 Five Corners, Freeport, L.I..
  23. 1 2 3 Rubin, Sylvia, January 7, 1988, San Francisco Chronicle: "Neighbor against neighbor; Mediators can resolve disputes." Section: People, Page B3. The Alameda Spite House is located at Broadway & Crist St, Alameda, CA 94501.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Lloyd, Chris, January 5, 2005, The Northern Echo: "Echo Memories - Of feuds and fiefdoms in little Gainford." Page 8.
  25. 1 2 3 Bloom, Jonathan, February 2, 2003, Boston Globe: "Existing by the Thinnest of Margins. A Concord Avenue Landmark Gives New Meaning to Cozy." Section: City Weekly; Page 11. Location: 260 Concord Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138.
  26. "Contact AHI : Annie Hall Interiors – Cambridge, MA". Anniehallinteriors.com. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Barnett, Tracy, June 25, 2006, San Antonio Express-News: "Honey and blood." Section: Travel; Page 1L.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Koss, Bill, October 29, 2000, The Seattle Times: "Homing in on the city of the $15,000 sofa What's really old, strange and expensive? These things." Section: Pacific Northwest; Page 4. Location: 2022 24th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112.
  29. 1 2 3 http://komonews.com/news/local/seattles-iconic-pie-shaped-spite-house-is-back-on-the-market
  30. 1 2 3 Lonsford, Michael, July 3, 1988, Houston Chronicle: "Ghosts of Old West haunt Virginia City streets." Section: Travel; Page 1.
  31. 1 2 Gayoso, Jay, July 7, 1985, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Sunrise man fighting color wars". Section: Local; Page 1B.
  32. Gayoso, Jay, July 9, 1985, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Paint job a protest against city code". Section: West, page 3. For descriptions of the Sunrise City's graffiti code violation, see Sunrise Code Enforcement Baker's Dozen.
  33. "Pig House tag sticks, for now". Toowoomba Chronicle.
  34. Fuquay, John (2004-03-12). "'Purple House' case to go to trial in April". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  35. Sloan, Rennie (2003-05-21). "Protest Done Up in Polka Dots - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
  36. "Pink paint on W. Lafayette house riles neighbors". WTHR. Associated Press. 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  37. 1 2 Young, Mackenzie (March 21, 2013). "Man Turns House Across the Street From Westboro Baptist Church Into Gay Pride Flag Read more: Man Turns House Across the Street From Westboro Baptist Church Into Gay Pride Flag". TIME. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  38. Cragg, Dan. March 22, 1997, The Washington Times: "Not the Garwood Marines remember". Section: Commentary Book Review, page C3. (review of Jensen-Stevenson, Monika, June 1997, Spite House: The Last Secret War in Vietnam. Publisher: Diane Pub Co. ISBN 0-7567-5013-X)

Further reading

External links

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