Spite Houses & Tiny Houses

Equality House

Topeka, Kansas

Spite Houses are buildings that are constructed to annoy, irate or “spite” neighbors. Often, these buildings were constructed in such a way as to obstruct views or access to sunlight. On some occasions, Spite Houses were built alongside property lines to provoke neighbors. In some instances, Spite Houses are used to protest. One famous modern example of a spite house would be the Equality House in Topeka Kansas. This building was decorated with the rainbow pride flag to celebrate the LGBTQ + community. It happens to be across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church, an institution that promotes homophobia, amongst other prejudiced views.

The Miracle House

Freeport, NY

In other instances, spite houses are built to protest conforming to town or city ordinances. The Miracle House, a home in Freeport, NY, was constructed in 1902 over the course of one day. The developer of the property, John Randall, built the house on a triangular plot of land, forcing city planners to divert from their straight-line construction project. “Randall "maintains that a straight line would reduce his frontage of land so as to make it worthless," wrote The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on March 5, 1902.” (Chamoff - A Freeport House with a Quirky History.)

Tiny Houses

Occasionally, Spite Houses are built in extremely confined, small plots of land. The result is typically a bizarrely small or narrow home that was designed to either block access to a street, or to block the view of whoever was the target of the “spite.” The Skinny House in Boston, Massachusetts is a perfect example of such a home: According to local legend, one of two brothers that owned the land built a large house on the property; the other brother, who disagreed with the project, decided to build a 10-foot-wide by 30-foot-long house to block the view of the harbor and sunlight.

The Skinny House

Boston, MA

Nowadays, people are designing and building their own tiny houses to protest in another way. The tiny home is now a statement against materialism and consumerism. The tiny house movement was started by people who longed for a simpler way of living, that revolved around decluttering their lives and living within their means. Another reason why people are now opting to live in tiny houses is to reduce their carbon footprint. Yet another is for mobility; some people choose to build their tiny homes on wheels, so that it can be taken essentially anywhere. A typical tiny home that is constructed from scratch rarely surpasses 500 square feet, but there is no shared consensus as to when a “tiny house” becomes a “small house.” Whether they are tiny homes or little houses, there is a shared history between the little houses of a bygone era and the anti-materialistic tiny home movement of today. 

Historically, various peoples around the world utilized little houses for mobility and practicality. Mongolian Yurts constructed by the peoples of central Asia and the Eurasian Steppes are portable and dependable. They are circular structures made out of poles adorned with felt or animal hide, and can easily be taken down and rebuilt when the nomadic people move with migratory animals.

Georgetown Historic Shotgun House

Georgetown, TX

Within the United States, homes were generally smaller in size and corresponded with availability of resources and practicality. Shotgun houses in the American South, particularly in Louisiana, are an example of smaller homes that were built due to their practicality. Shotgun houses are generally up to 12 feet wide, with rooms extending directly behind the facade without a hallway in the home. These efficient, smaller homes were used in areas with a dense population that were inhabited by working class people. The architectural style of shotgun houses was introduced in New Orleans by the Afro-Haitian community in the 19th century.

In the city of Albany, NY, there are some fascinating historical homes that are either rather small, or unique in shape. These houses are located at 303c State Street, 27 Wilson Street, 172 ½ Washington Avenue, 77 Westerlo Street and 229 Elm Street.

27 Wilson Street

Albany, NY

303c State Street, according to the owner, Adam Ladopoulos, was formerly a carriage house. In an interview posted in an “All Over Albany” article entitled “Little House on State Street,” Ladopoulos didn’t have much more information regarding the history of the home. According to the realestate site Trulia, 303 State Street was built in 1856 - 303 and 303c State Street both appear to have been built around the same time. The building is located in the Central Avenue neighborhood in Albany. 

27 Wilson Street: Built in 1876, this unusually narrow house made out of brick is quite an interesting site to see. This house is located in the Ten Broeck Triangle in the Arbor Hill Neighborhood. The Ten Broeck Mansion is a Federalist period mansion that was built by Abraham Ten Broeck in 1797. According to the Albany City Directory from 1876, two Machinists, James and George Gledhill used to reside and or work at this location. 

172 ½ Washington Avenue: Built in 1900 according to realtor.com, this brown stone is another narrow building, in between 172 Washington Avenue and 170 Washington Avenue. Not much else is known about this location, unfortunately. It is located in the Central Avenue Neighborhood.

229 Elm Street: Built in 1900, this charming 855 square foot residence is located in the Center Square & Hudson Park Neighborhood. According to a Building-Structure Inventory Form from March, 1975, the building was formerly commercially zoned. It was described as a “detached, single story commercial building” that had considerably deteriorated.

77 Westerlo Street: This peculiar building was constructed in 1876 and can be found in the Pastures Historic District in Albany. The building is adorned with ornate brickwork. The city of Albany Historian Tony Opalka informed us that it was constructed on “a leftover piece of land that was wedged between the commercial building on S Pearl and the last building on Westerlo.”

If anyone has any information on these buildings, or know of any other small houses in Albany, please let us know!

By Andrea Lurie.

77 Westerlo Street

Albany, NY

303 c State Street

Albany, NY

172 1/2 Washington Avenue

Albany, NY

229 Elm Street

Albany, NY

Image sources: Equality House, Freeport NY Miracle House, The Skinny House, Georgetown Historic Shotgun House, 77 Westerlo Street, 303c State Street, 229 Elm Street.

Glendale Avenue by Albert R De Salvo

Having resided in three large urban centers (Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore)  for 23 years, moving to the small city of Albany  was a major life change for me.  As much of a challenge, too, was leaving a city where I had put down deep roots, completed many projects and was active in more than a few civic activities. And, I also left behind a 3,200 sf 12 room colonial revival pile of wood and slate on a large lot (think Pine Hills) for a 1,200 sf  house with small rooms on a 35 X 85 lot. Ah, what one does for love! A row house city Albany is not, and I wondered why these narrow houses on narrow lots weren’t all connected since the only thing separating them from one another was a driveway and perhaps a narrow patch of vegetation.

Although I lost a big city and a big house, I gained a neighborhood.

Although I lost a big city and a big house, I gained a neighborhood. And I soon came to realize that my Albany residence and street was very much like my first Baltimore residence and street. My first house was a small 2-story 3 bedroom  brick semi-detached among 39 others with a first-floor open space plan and a walk-out finished basement. The living room and basement faced a stream valley that was jointly owned by the community association. This, plus the proximity of the houses to each other encouraged interaction, interconnecting and cooperation. A twice yearly stream valley cleanup, community yard sale and block party cemented this feeling of neighborliness. I was soon to learn that our little Albany street, was very similar to my first neighborhood in Baltimore (minus the stream valley!) When I arrived with the rented truck full of my physical life up to that point, there was a group of neighbors ready to help with the unloading. Soon after my arrival, there was a block party and community yard sale. Neighbors were eager to take care of my dogs when we were out of town.  And, though I missed my big Baltimore barn, I grew to be comfortable with the coziness of the Albany house especially after I stripped off the aluminum siding, finished the attic space, remodeled the kitchen and added a 2-story 800 sf rear addition giving us 2,000 sf and a bit more wiggle room and a lot more exterior light into the house.

“People stop by for front porch conversations and back yard over-the-fence discussions, share food and garden crops, borrow tools, watch each other’s kids and pets, help with house projects”

Our street is always active—it is the neighborhood’s living room. People stop by for front porch conversations and back yard over-the-fence discussions, share food and garden crops, borrow tools, watch each other’s kids and pets, help with house projects. Block parties and yard sales are ongoing and part of the culture. I have learned over the years through my work and my living experiences that proximity and scale are both critical to quality of life. We don’t need to rattle around in a big house and yard that requires time and energy to maintain. We ought not to be so spread out that we barely know or see our neighbors. 

My street, Glendale Avenue in the Helderberg neighborhood, and my house, #67, are good examples of what makes for a great Albany story.

By Albert R De Salvo

J L Mott Shower & Base

Turn-of-the-century JL Mott Needle Shower and Curved Base

This shower and base was saved from a private home in Castleton, NY. It was manufactured by JL Mott Iron Works, NYC (the company moved to Trenton, NJ in 1902.) This was a very high-end piece in it’s day (original price: $52!) and very few have survived. Stop by the warehouse to check it out for yourself. We’ll have it set up and give you a demo of this great piece of history. …..

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More Historic Fabric Lost

On Wednesday, September 2nd, HAF was informed that three row houses on First Street, between Hawk and Lark Streets, were slated for emergency demolition the following day.  

This section of the block consists of seven row houses, that from first glance, look to be an intact and maintained row.  However, look a little closer and you can see the sky through the upper front windows of 61 ½ First Street where the roof has collapsed.  The deteriorating east-facing wall of 58 First Street has generated numerous calls to HAF for bricks falling and large cracks appearing in the exterior wall.  Two of the other homes will be stabilized, while the two at the west end of the row are currently occupied.

After speaking with City of Albany officials, HAF learned that each of these properties is owned by a different owner, has had numerous outstanding code violations that were never complied with, and have sat vacant for many years.  None of the owners have applied for building permits to do any renovation or stabilization work.  In addition, most of these homes are delinquent in their taxes as well.  

A lot of people ask “why don’t developers just buy them and fix them up?”  It’s easier said than done.  Most of the properties that get to the emergency demolition phase are not for sale.  Most sit uncared for by absentee owners who are unwilling to sell.  They are not even purposely buttoned up to the elements and properly mothballed to allow them to withstand the elements.  And as we all know, water is a vacant building’s worst enemy, as we are seeing again in this case with roof and other collapses.

So who is to blame, and what is HAF doing about the issue of vacant buildings and demolitions in the City of Albany?

First, absentee and apathetic property owners carry the most blame in these situations.   Too many properties sit vacant and deteriorating across the City in every neighborhood.  But it is especially detrimental when we continue to lose buildings in our historic districts.  These particular properties have sat vacant for at least seven years each.  

HAF is working with the City of Albany and others to change legislation to at least allow for the court system to do their jobs effectively.  Currently, if a property is cited for a code violation, and the owner goes to court, the owner only needs to pay the fine assessed by the court.  There is no leverage to ensure the property owner makes the repairs that created the violation.  HAF has submitted a policy change that gives the court and the Code Enforcement Department more leverage to make property owners accountable for the repairs necessary.  We will continue to work on policy issues such as this moving forward.

In addition, HAF has been invited to participate in the new Blight to Betterment Task Force spearheaded by Albany County Legislators Matthew Peter and Carolyn McLaughlin.   This Task Force is bringing together individuals and organizations at the State, County, City and community level to tackle issues facing blight, vacancy, property maintenance, homeownership disparity, and how we can all work together toward a common goal.

The bottom line is that once buildings are gone, they leave gaping holes and empty lots that are not refilled.  Once intact rows have “missing teeth” that also threaten the stability of the remaining buildings as they were not built to stand alone, causing further decay.  Once demolitions happen, the historic fabric of our neighborhoods disappears and cannot be gotten back.  It is imperative that we all work together to find solutions to stem this tide.