A look at “spite houses” across the US

These homes were built out of sheer malignity

Spite houses
Spite houses

WEEKENDEDITION Ask any developer, building a house is no small task. So it takes a special level of vindictiveness to build an entire home out of spite. Nevertheless, houses built specifically to block a neighbor’s view, challenge city ordinances or thwart city planners have popped up across the country, according to Mental Floss. Here is a look at some of the most architecturally odd spite houses out there.

1. The Hollensbury House in Alexandria, Va.

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This 7-foot wide house was built in 1830 to keep people from using an alley.

2. The Tyler spite house in Frederick, Md.

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In 1814, this mansion was built by a local doctor to prevent the town from building a road through his property, after learning that the city couldn’t Legally Build A Road through a construction site.

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3. The old spite house in Marblehead, Mass.

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Local legend has it that this oddly shaped house was built out of sibling rivalry. One brother, angry over his smaller inheritance, built his section of the house to block his brother’s view.

4. The Freeport, N.Y., spite house

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When city planners attempted to lay out streets out in a perfect grid, one landowner decided to build on a triangular plot of land. Aerial views of the town show that the streets had to loop around the large plot. [Mental Floss]Christopher Cameron