84-year-old Edith Macefield refused to sell her tiny 600-square-foot bungalow, built around 1900, to builders who wanted to build a mall in Seattle, Washington, over it. In 2006, they offered her a million dollars to move. But her anti-corporate stance eventually won, and the developers were forced to build their mall around her house!
In 2008, Edith died and left the home to Barry Martin, the construction chief at an adjacent building site who had befriended her and helped her through her final days. Most people call the two-story house, which is now abutted on three sides by taller commercial buildings, the ‘Up’ House for its resemblance to the house in the Disney movie Up.
In March of 2015, the house failed to sell at an auction because the $170,000 price tag came with $300,000 in lien taxes. After the failed auction, the house was relisted without any tax lien. According to New York Times, an investment management company in North Carolina, which took the property after a mortgage default, is selling the house and taking bids until April 20.
American IRA, the company selling the house, said in a statement: “After witnessing the tremendous interest in the house from around the world, the seller is more determined than ever to make sure that Edith Macefield’s legacy will survive. We do not know what will happen to the house, but we can and will make sure that a place will be established where people may pay tribute to Edith Macefield”.
This cute story shows how true worth of some things is greater than any market value http://t.co/YgKzS7QACr @drauriffeille #cofcenvisoc
— Carmen Wiegandt (@wiegandt_carmen) April 16, 2015
Brand new on @Kickstarter: The Edith Macefield Museum by Darrell Kirk http://t.co/x8FSI1VAEG — Krowdster (@krowdster) April 16, 2015
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I wish I had the money and the means to buy that house and convert it into a character restaurant/lounge. Keep the spirit of that house alive and honor Edith Macfield by naming it after her. That would be awesome.
I think doing that would make her roll in her grave. She would be horrified at the prospect.
The Real Life version of the book “The Little House” by Virginia Lee Burton.
thid shows that corporate greed won ” her house is unsaleable”