UPDATE: Tiny House that Possibly Inspired the Movie “Up” is NOT Going Down
After being a physical barrier for a mall development for so long, a tiny, century-old home in the Seattle, Wash. area was facing demolition until a non-profit organization decided to save the home. The home was saved because many people believe it and its previous owner Edith Macefield inspired Pixar’s movie Up.
Originally published on "As It Happens." Photo credit: David Ryder/Reuters
CBC Radio’s As It Happens recently interviewed the man who knew Edith and he shared the special story behind the small house and its battle against developers (sound familiar yet?).
Back in 2006, building developers bought up land surrounding Edith’s home to construct a large mall. However, the 86-year-old never sold her home, even when developers offered her one million dollars for the property.
To keep Edith happy during construction, the project’s foreman, Barry Martin, formed a bond with the tiny home’s owner.
“With all the media and whatever, I couldn't afford her to be unhappy with the construction going on," he told the show. "I did everything that I could to make sure that we weren't disrupting her. I would check on her all the time. I think she appreciated it.”
Originally published on As It Happens. Top: Edith Macefield's home in 2007 as a massive project rises around it. Bottom: A similar scene from the Pixar animated film "Up". Photo credit: Macefield House: Karen Ducey, AP Photo/Post-Intelligencer; Up: Screen capture
"On the outside, everybody saw her as kind of angry and cantankerous," Martin said. "I don't believe she trusted people.”
Soon enough, Edith came to know Barry as her friend and before she passed, she gave him her power of attorney — and with that the power to sell her home.
The home’s new owners (not Martin) planned to tear it down, and this caused a stir within the community among people who believe it goes against what Edith and the tiny home represented.
"It wouldn't matter to Edith," Martin shared. "She really believed that once she passed that the developers would buy it up and they would fill in the hole that's in the building. We built the building so that that could happen."
The house will be removed from the property, but it will still stand at another location picked by the undisclosed non-profit the owners donated the home to.